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Sports
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Rams and Lady Rams
On right track at Wake Forest Open
CO/IC/Z'S
LaTasha Miles
Sports Editor
The men and women's track
teams of Winston-Salem State
took field to their second out
door meet of the season March
19 and March 20 at the Wake
Forest Open.
WSSU competed against 64
other schools including
Appalachian State, NC A&T,
NC Central, and Howard in
the two-day meet.
Illness played a factor among
many of the team's members;
however, a collective effort
produced some stellar individ
ual and team results.
Sophomore Andrew Chebii,
a standout also on the Rams
cross-country team, estab
lished the pace for WSSU, fin
ishing with a 1:52:75 fourth
place finish in the men's 800m
run in day one of the events.
Chebii added a time of
4:00:15 in the 1500m run.
"He's fantastic," said
Halcyon Blake, fourth year
head coach for both Rams track
teams.
"He has done excellent."
"You can always count on
him when you need him. I was
really proud of his perform
ance."
Senior Paul Williams contin
ued the momentum set by
Chebii, with a 10.72 fifth place
finish in the men's 100m dash
preliminaries.
For an encore, Williams
placed fifth in the 100m finals
March 20, with a time of 10.62.
He also placed 13th in the
200m dash finishing with a
21.69. Williams assisted with
the 4X400m relay team along
with Chebii, junior Cornell
Jones, and senior Chad Smith.
Williams, a sprinter, won the
second heat of the event dash
ing down the stretch, assisting
the Rams to a sixth place finish
with a time of 3:18:03,
Senior Nate Summerville,
tied for third place in the high
jump event at 6'5.5" (197m).
Despite such a strong finish,
Summerville thinks he can do
better and that the best is yet to
come.
"1 wasn't surprised,"
Summerville said.
"I intended to do better, but
I'm starting to get back into my
rhythm, and this was a start. I
was kind of disappointed, but I
have been working hard.
"I'm not mad, top three is
good, but I can do better."
Summerville said he plans to
achieve a high jump of 6'9" or
higher in the near future.
Senior Davril Massey placed
14th in the men's long jump
with a distance of 6.72m and
senior James Legins placed
21st with a distance of 6.39m.
In the Lady Rams opening-
day performances, redshirt-
freshman Stephanie Brown
came just short in the prelimi
naries in the women's 100m
hurdles with a time of 15.28.
The difference for Brown to
qualify for the finals was 00.06
seconds.
Sophomore Denesha Jiles
was also slighted in the prelim
inaries, coming in 19th place
with a time of 12.49 in the
women's 100m dash.
Senior Jessica Peaks left her
mark at the two-day event
with her second place finish in
the women's high jump com
petition with a height of 1.72m.
Peaks was slightly edged out
by Katelyn Williams of West
Virginia, with a height of
1.78m.
"At first, I wasn't happy with
the results because I wanted to
win," Peaks said.
"But once I saw how high I
actually jumped, I was
pleased. This is my senior sea
son and my goal is 5'11".
Overall, I thought it [Wake
Forest Open] was a good
meet."
Peaks also contributed to the
women's 4X400m relay along
with senior Sandy Harrison,
sophomore Ashley Lawson,
and junior Allegra Seegars.
The Lady Rams finished in
10th place with a time of
3:59:00.
Both the Rams and the Lady
Rams finished with strong per
formances in front of the home
crowd.
"We always do well at Wake
Forest," Blake said. "It has that
extra home feeling to it.
Wake Forest is our coming-
out party. I thought that some
people performed at their very
best, and I'm very thankful for
all the support we got from the
school."
3ATON
Passed to Jessica Peaks
LaTasha Miles
Sports Editor
Jessica Peaks, from
Durham is a senior on the
Lady Rams track & field team. The former student of
Durham School of the Arts is a sprinter and also specializes
in jumps. Peaks is a physical education major. Lady Rams
head coach Halcyon Blake selected her as a co-recipient of
the Coach's Baton Honor.
Peaks came in second place in the women's high jump at
the Wake Forest Open March 21 with a height of 1.72m.
Peaks also assisted the Lady Rams in the 4x400m relay to a
10th place finish. "They [Peaks and Williams] had a stellar
weekend," Blake said. "They played a [key] part on the
team. Thev did fantastic."
0/troN
Passed to Paul Williams
LaTasha Miles
Sports Editor
Paul Williams, from
Winston-Salem is a senior on
the Rams track & field team.
The former student of
Parkland High is a sprinter majoring in Information Technol
ogy. Rams head coach Halcyon Blake selected him as a co
recipient of the Coach's Baton Honor. Williams came in fifth
place in the 100m finals March 20 with a time of 10.62.
Williams also assisted the Rams to a sixth place finish in the
4x400m relay. The Rams competed against 64 other schools
during the meet March 20-21. "They [Peaks and Williams]
did some great things," Blake said. "They always do the
things that they need to do. They are leaders on the team."
Lady Rams split doubleheader with NC Central
LaTasha Miles
Sports Editor
The Lady Rams softball team
defeated NC Central 10-1 in the first
game by dominating at bat at Randy
Jones Field March 23.
But a collapse in the second game cost
the Lady Rams, 7-5.
In the victory, Winston-Salem State
dictated the pace the entire game with
nine hits to NC Central's four.
The Lady Rams had two hits and
scored in the first inning, taking an
early 1-0 lead when senior Whitney
Hall hit a double to drive freshman
Brittany Lane home.
However, the Lady Eagles defense
left the Lady Rams scoreless in the sec
ond inning. WSSU also kept NC
Central with no score after two innings.
During the third inning, the Lady
Rams added three more hits and
returned to their scoring ways from the
first inning. Hall recorded her second
double in the game, leading in junior
Kayla Woodbury, extending the Lady
Rams lead 2-0.
"We broke their defense down,"
Woodbury said after a game-high of 4-
4. Woodbury scored two runs and
added four RBIs.
"Hitting was contagious in the first
game."
After her second double. Hall did not
remain on second base for long, cross
ing the plate shortly after an RBI double
from freshman Nikki Lynch. The Lady
Rams extended to a controlling 4-0
lead after three inrungs.
WSSU did not score in the fourth
inning while NC Central's score
trimmed the lead 4-1.
The roles reversed in the fifth inning.
NC Central was held scoreless again,
but the scoring spree reappeared for
WSSU.
In the bottom of the fifth, freshman
Britney Cato recorded a double RBI.
WSSU also scored on NC Central's only
error of the game, a costly throwing
error which led to a score from Cato.
Junior Bonika Terry contributed a sac
rifice bunt, which drove junior Ashley
Shepherd for an additional score.
Woodbury closed out the game with a
three-run homer that notched the vic
tory for the Lady Rams, in the first of
the doubleheader.
Lane gave up one earned run,
allowed four hits, but allowed no
walks.
She also added five strikeouts. The
win improved Lane to a 2-4 record, as
she pitched the game's entire five
innings.
However, the second game of the
doubleheader did not favor Lane or the
Lady Rams.
WSSU began with another strong first
inning, this time jumping out 3-0. Terry
initiated the lead with a single RBI that
sent Lane to home plate. Woodbury
added to the first irming's points with a
two-run homer.
The home run, the second of the day
for Woodbury, the tenth of her career,
became the most career home runs by a
Lady Ram in eight seasons.
NC Central answered by tying the
game 3-3 in the top of the second
inning, but the Lady Rams posted two
more runs in the bottom of the second.
Terry's streak at bat continued as she hit
a two-run score, also sending Lane
home, to recapture the lead 5-3.
No runs were scored in the third, but
with four hits, NC Central snuck in
three more scores in the fourth inning,
taking a 6-5 lead.
The Lady Rams were unable to relin
quish the lead, as they were held score
less for the remainder of the game. The
Lady Eagles added one more run in the
sixth inning, totaling four unanswered,
to win the second of the doubleheader
7-5.
"Fatigue was not a factor," Woodbury
said, regarding the latter part of the
doubleheader.
"Our defense faltered in the second
game. When they [NC Central] had
runners on base in the second game, it
made a difference.
Despite an error-free performance
from the Lady Rams, NC Central accu
mulated 13 hits compared to WSSU's
eight.
The Lady Eagles committed three
errors.
NC Central had pitching rotation in
the second game, while Lane (2-5)
stayed on the mound an additional
seven innings for the Lady Rams.
Lane finished the second game with
five strikeouts, 13 hits, and seven
earned hits, as the Lady Rams fell to 3-
10 as the Lady Eagles went to 5-19.
Woodbury ended 2-3, with a run
scored, and two RBIs in a losing effort.
In addition to a personal highlight on
her WSSU career, Terry finished the
game 2-3, two runs scored, and three
RBIs.