Women Win Conference Championships in 8 Events
04/29/07

Despite winning 8 different events, including both relays, the Rhodes women fell just points short of capturing a conference title. The Rhodes sprinters and jumpers impressed many with their dominating performances.

Freshman Kristin Forbes (Hillsboro/Nashville,TN) won 5 events, including the 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, 4x100 meter relay, and 4x400 meter relay. Her contribution of 35 points, made her the second highest point contributor of the meet. In the 100 meter dash, Forbes ran a time of 12.43 seconds. Close behind was Junior Sha King (Kirby/Memphis,TN) running a time of 12.75, finishing in 4th place.

The Lynx placed 4 women in the finals of the 200 meters. Forbes' winning time of 25.12 seconds is a NCAA Provisional National Qualifying Mark and currently ranks her 16th in the nation. Freshman Julia Goss (Visitation/St.Louis,MO) finished 3rd in a time of 25.65, King finished 4th in a time of 26.07, and Senior Elizabeth Erny (Sacred Heart/Louisville,KY) finished 6th in a time of 26.51. It was much of the same in the 400 meter dash. Again Forbes hit a NCAA Provisional National Qualifying Mark and is currently ranked 8th in the 400 meter dash with a winning time of 56.67 seconds. Goss finished 3rd in a time of 58.22, while Erny finished 4th in a time of 58.64.

Forbes, Goss, King, and Erny combined efforts in the 4x100 meter relay to run away with the championship and also lower their NCAA Provisional National Qualifying Mark with a time of 48.25, which currently ranks the team in 9th place. Forbes, Goss, King, and Sophomore Emily Broocks (Cedar Creek/Ruston, LA) returned to simiarly win the 4x400 meter relay in a time of 3:58.35.

Much like the 200 meters, the Lynx placed four women into the finals of the 100 meter high hurdles. Sophomore Bekka Russ (Franklin/Franklin,TX) won the event in a season-best time of 15.78, while Freshman Kim Tryon (Gulf Breeze/Gulf Breeze,FL) finished in 2nd place with a time of 16.31 and Freshman Elizabeth Bernard (Carroll/Southlake,TX) finished in 5th place with a time of 16.63. Sophomore Alanna Topps (Gallatin/Hendersonville,TN) fell over the 7th hurdle after leading much of the race. She did complete the race to finish in 8th place, earning the team a point. Freshman Rachel Bernard (Carroll/Southlake,TX) set a personal best in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:09.66, which placed her in 6th.

Tryon led the way in a quartet of great performances in the pole vault with a victory and meet record leap of 3.37 meters (11'). Russ was close behind in 2nd with a leap of 3.05 meters (10'), while Erny jumped 2.75 meters (9') to earn 3rd place. Freshman Melissa DeFabrizio (Admiral Farragut,FL/Richmond Hill,ONT) finished tied for 6th with a jump of 2.60 meters (8'6).

In the jumps, Sophomore Annie Bell (MICDS/St.Louis,MO) turned in a tremendous performance in the triple jump. Her winning jump of 11.52 meters (37'9.5) improved her NCAA Provisional National Qualifying Mark and moves into 9th place in the nation. Tryon contributed in the triple jump as well, with a jump of 10.41 meters (34'2) to finish in 5th place. In the long jump, Goss finished 2nd with a mark of 5.20 meters (17') and Bell finished in 7th with a mark of 4.93 meters (16'2). Sophomore Valisa Berber-Thayer (Fredricksburg/Fredricksburg,TX) consistently jumped well after returning from a hamstring injury. Her best mark of 5.05 meters (16'7) was good enough for 6th place, but only a couple centimers from All-Conference honors. Russ was the only Rhodes competitior in the high jump finishing in 4th place with a leap of 1.42 meters (4'8).

In the women’s 800m, Senior Courtney Cockerell (Raytown/Kansas City,MO) led the way as the top distance point scorer with her 4th place finish in a season best time of 2:21.55; cutting nearly 5 seconds from her seed time. Cockerell was followed closely by Broocks (Cedar Creek/Ruston,LA) in 2:21.81 in 5th, a season best as well. Additional point scorers for the women were Cybil Covic (Cordova/Cordova,TN) and Kate Scherer (Ursiline Academy/Cincinnati,OH) in 5th and 6th, respectively, in the 3000m steeplechase, and Whitney Ranson (Asheville School/Pickens,SC) who placed 7th in the 5000m run.

The women sprinters will continue their season this coming weekend in Nashville, TN, before travelling to Abilene Christian on May 10th.

Complete Results

Complete List of Point Scorers