Hello everyone, and welcome to day one of the VMIKeydets.com blog of the 2009 Big South Outdoor Track and Field Championships! While the exact format will be determined by logistics at Radford, as well as the timing of the trip as a whole, updates will be provided throughout each day. Fans and supporters should be aware that some updates, particularly those regarding team travel, may be retroactive. Please feel free to email saloisbj@vmi.edu with any comments, questions or suggestions.

VMI Team Scores: Women - 16 Points, 5th Place (through four events)...Men - 14 Points, 7th Place (through four events).

9:51: The team is now back here at the hotel, the Sleep Inn on the outskirts of Radford, after eating at Fatz Cafe. Several athletes are getting treatment from the athletic trainer before going to bed. Final photos of the day have been added, including three from the women's 10K and Hannah Granger's award ceremony. We'll be back with you tomorrow, live from Radford University. Thank you and good night.

6:58: We finally have men's hammer results. Chad Lawson is the Keydets' top finisher, coming home seventh with a toss of 50.13 meters (164'6"). The top three finishers all posted NCAA Regional qualification marks, so it was a difficult field for Lawson. The Keydet men fall to seventh place overall, but third place Radford is just two points ahead of them, so the teams are bunched up. Coastal Carolina is in second place with 30 points, while Liberty leads with 45 markers at the conclusion of day one of competition.

Check back tomorrow for Friday's results. There may be an update tonight as well, if anything newsworthy or noteworthy takes place during the closing portions of the evening. I do plan on posting more elaborate results tonight on this blog.

Until then, thank you for reading the VMIKeydets.com Big South Championship Blog. We'll see you tomorrow from Cupp Stadium in Radford, Virginia! Action will resume tomorrow at 11, and you can follow it on this blog or on the Big South EDGE. A full story will be posted later on this evening as well.

6:46: Hammer results should be coming momentarily. Meanwhile, I've been told that Granger's win marks VMI's first women's track conference champion in Keydet history. Several VMI field event participants have won conference titles, but never a track athlete...Until tonight.

6:39: Granger pulls away late and wins in an ECAC qualifying time of 36:56.

Thank you to the gentleman who sent in an email all the way from Germany! However, we do not have results from the men's hammer throw at this time.  

6:33: And we have yet another lead change with four laps to go, as VMI's Granger goes right back in front. We also have results from the long jump, as Ademola Titcombe's PR leap of 7.08 M (23'2 3/4") did in fact earn him a second-place finish, as the impressive freshman season continues for Titcombe. Terrence Green came home sixth with a 6.89 effort (22'7 1/4"), and the Keydets earned 11 points.

6:30: Bushman has closed the race back up, and is now right back on Granger's shoulder with five to go...And now Bushman takes the lead for the first time today.

6:27: ...And here comes Granger's finishing effort. With eight to go, she has opened up a full 10 stride lead in just one lap. Osborne has fallen off the pace somewhat.

6:22: Granger goes to the front on the back stretch with 11 to go, but Bushman continues to stay right with her. Moss from Winthrop is a couple of strides behind, with Osborne of LU trailing in fourth.

6:19: The front five are under a blanket with 14 to go...Granger comes to third and is riding Osborne's shoulder for second, but in turn, Bushman of Liberty is right with Granger. We are halfway in the 10K in 18:26.

6:14: Granger goes to fourth and the gap is closing ever so slightly. Ashley Osborne of Liberty makes a move up front and goes to second place, splitting the two Winthrop runners who had been leading the pack.

6:11: Granger makes a pass for fifth place with 19 laps remaining. The front three have broken away, with the fourth runner sitting in between Granger and that group. A very quick pace early on, with the first mile going down in 5:47.  

6:05: We have updated decathlon results for you...But first, Ademola Titcombe just jumped 7.08 meters in the long jump. I believe that is a PR and would put him in second place.

Updated decathlon results at the end of day one:

Newell (LU) 3,916

Murray (LU) 3,535

Woodbridge (LU) 3,362

Brusich (GWU) 3,262

Bowles (CSU) 3,198

Richards (RU) 3,155

Harmon (CCU) 3,132

Munson (VMI) 3,117

Edwards (LU) 3,014

Auyeung (HPU) 2,849

6:03: Pickett appears to have been scratched. Not sure of the details on that one. Race is going out quickly the first couple of laps, with Granger currently a couple of strides behind the front five. It's a six person breakaway after just two laps.

6 p.m.: Titcombe starts the long jump final with a 6.93 leap, and Green follows with a 6.63 meter effort. Both Michael Munson and Richard Garcia were in the first of two heats, with Munson clocking in at 52.09 and Garcia finishing in 52.64. Bryant Clopper's official time in the 10K was 33:10.48, as he scored the first point of the meet for the VMI men. We're now preparing for the women's 10K, which will feature both Hannah Granger and Jenna Pickett. Granger has appeared to be ready for some time, as she's walked up and down the stadium stairs several times to retrieve her gear after removing her headphones a short time ago.

5:46: Jesse Cherry of High Point wins (30:41.82), Josh Edmonds of Liberty finishes second with a pass on the final straightaway. Clopper comes home eighth and scores the first point for the Keydets. We have results from the decathlon high jump, but with the 400-meters about to start, we will wait to bring you final results until the conclusion of that event.   

5:44: Cherry is well in front coming to the bell lap, with Clopper still in eighth.  

5:40: Cherry now with a half-straightaway lead, having just completed a 4:48 mile. Clopper remains in eighth with five to go.

5:38: Clopper is lapped and falls to eighth.

5:37: Titcombe and Green have both made the finals of the long jump. Cherry continues to lead and is quickening the pace in the 10K. It appears he will lap Clopper this coming lap, as we come to seven to go.

5:36: Cherry continues to lead, through four miles in 20:48 and heading the four-man breakaway with nine laps remaining. Clopper continues to hold in seventh.

5:30: No change in the 10K, but Titcombe (6.53 meters) just put up a much-improved long jump effort.

5:28: With 14 laps to go, the pack led by High Point's Jesse Cherry continues to pull away. Clopper remains in seventh and looks to be in good position to score.  

5:24: Clopper falls to seventh as the front five distance themselves from the field, and Terrence Green jumps 6.89 in the long jump. 17 laps to go in the men's 10K.

5:22: After the first mile, the front four have pulled out to a slight margin over the next three. Clopper remains in sixth, as the front seven are now nose-to-tail again and have distanced themselves from the other three runners. with 20 laps remaining. Meanwhile, Ademola Titcombe just leapt 6.04 in the long jump.

5:16: Slow pace to start...Clopper sits sixth after two laps (1/2 mile), with the field still grouped together. High Point's Jesse Cherry leads.

5:14: Men's 10K is about to start...Will try to give updates on the Keydets' Bryant Clopper.

5:04: The decathlon's high jump has just concluded, results are pending. Second flight of the men's long jump is about to go, but the men's 10K will begin shortly, so there may be some conflict. Following the men's 10,000, the decathlon's events will conclude for the day with the 400-meters, and then the day's action will wrap up with the women's 10K. Bryant Clopper, Jenna Pickett and Hannah Granger are all scheduled to compete in the distance event, which will cover 25 laps around the Cupp Stadium track.

In addition, the men's hammer is underway over at the throwing facility.

4:51: It is worth noting that the all-time point high for the Keydet women's track and field team at the conference championship is 42, which is what the squad scored last year in Rock Hill, S.C. 

4:45: And the results just keep pouring in to us here at Cupp Stadium, as the Keydets add to their total points. Aquisi Harris finishes seventh in the women's hammer, as she tossed the implement 43.49 M (142'8"), which is very close to her PR. We'll have to take a look at the records a bit later on to confirm that.

4:43: The men's long jump is now underway, with the first flight currently taking place. Ademola Titcombe and Terrence Green will be in the second flight.  

4:36: I just learned that Zipporah McCann does indeed remain in 11th, as the shot put results have just come in from the heptathlon (the VMI sophomore's effort was 8.25 M, 27'1"). However, McCann is just 20 points from advancing a position, so positive things can come from the final day of that competition. Also just learned that Michael Munson is now in eighth place in the decathlon, with 1,777 points through three events. Richard Garcia is 10th.

Decathlon leaderboard:

Newell (LU) 2,259

Murray (LU) 2,015

Woodbridge (LU) 1,994

Bowles (CSU) 1,821

Brusich (GWU) 1,821

Harmon (CCU) 1,809

Edwards (LU) 1,782

Munson (VMI) 1,777

Richards (RU) 1,750

Garcia (VMI) 1,726

4:29: We now have the results of the women's long jump, and the Keydets added three points to their team score. Jasmine Hariston sets a new personal best with a 5.35 M leap (17'6 3/4") to finish sixth.

4:15: Zipporah McCann finishes fifth in her heat of the women's 200 in the heptathlon, with a time of 27.56. I believe she will remain in 11th place, but I will have to wait for the results on that.

4:11: As of right now, the women's squad for VMI is on the board with a single team point, as they currently sit in fourth place, thanks to Hope Hackemeyer's eighth place finish in the javelin. Today's final heptathlon event is about to conclude, as the second heat of the 200-meter dash is about to take place. Still no word on the shot put from either of the multi events, or from the women's hammer throw, in which the Keydets' Aquisi Harris had a strong chance to score.

4:00: No new results have been published since we last updated. This is one of the perils of track, because sometimes, with all the logistics necessary to run a meet, there can be unforeseen issues with the results themselves. We're now waiting on an event for the decathlon (soon to be two events), a heptathlon event, the women's long jump and potentially, one of the hammer throws. Will try to put in some of the photos I just took, as the men's long jump warmups are now set to begin. We will bring you the results as I get them.

3:44: Hairston's first jump of the finals was a 4.55 meter effort, and her second effort cleared the five-meter barrier with a 5.03 M effort. Meanwhile, the decathlon is running its high jump, while the heptathlon's 200-meter run will take place at 4:10. I will try to go down and get some photos now.

3:19: Hariston advances to the finals, and appears to be in eighth place overall at this point.

3:12: It appears as if I missed Hariston's third, and final, jump, so I am not sure what her top effort is. Timing officials are calculating who will advance to the finals. Meanwhile, the decathlon shot put has concluded and the high jump is warming up. Results forthcoming.

3:05: Second jump for Hariston is a foul. One leap to go before it is determined whether she advances to the finals (top nine will advance).

2:58: Hariston's first jump is a 5.10 meter effort.

2:50: McCann's second jump is a 4.97 meter leap. The athletes doing the long jump/heptathlon double will be allowed to conclude their three jumps first, before the remaining jumpers take their turns.  

Current scores from the heptathlon show McCann, despite a solid 1.44 M (4'8 3/4") effort in the high jump, remaining in 11th place with 991 total points. Fans should note that the live updates are still taking place approximately once an hour on the RU scoring page, linked to above. In the fuss over some papers blowing away in the press area (it is not enclosed here at Cupp Stadium), I missed McCann's last jump. We'll get that out when we can, but the remainder of the jumpers, including Jasmine Hariston, are now preparing to go.

2:45: We now have the results from the women's javelin...VMI's top finisher was Hope Hackemeyer, who finishes with a 34.58 M toss (113'5") to place eighth. A solid finish for Hope, and it earns the Keydet women one team point. Coastal Carolina and Gardner-Webb dominated the event however, placing six of the top eight finishers.

The second flight of the women's long jump is underway, with Zipporah McCann just having taken her first attempt, which was measured at a 4.79 M. McCann and several others will compete here, then be shuttled over to the shot put area to continue the heptathlon.

2:20: Women's long jump is now underway, with the first of two flights now into its second leap. The women's heptathlon high jump is also still going on, as the bar is now at 1.59 M. Not sure who is still in play there however. Also, we are still lacking results for the women's javelin. We'll post results as soon as we have them.

The portions of the team that are here are congregated directly below me...I can see Terrence Green, Ademola Titcombe and assistant coach Garrett Brickner, among others. The rest of the squad should be back at Cupp Stadium in just over an hour, as they're currently at the hotel. The plan after tonight's final event, the women's 10K, is for the team to have dinner at an eatery called Fatz Cafe before returning to the hotel, and we're all meeting here at the stadium to conserve time so the squad is not out too late.

1:50: The women's long jump is just about to begin, as the warm-ups are currently underway. The VMI triple jump record holder, freshman Jasmine Hariston, is entered in the second of two flights.

Also, readers should note that today's photo gallery (linked above) is being updated as time and conditions allow, so please feel free to check that out.

1:40: Results are now in from the decathlon men's long jump. Daniel Newell of Liberty had the best leap, a 6.58, and continues to lead the overall competition. Michael Munson jumped 6.09 M, while Richard Garcia was able to notch a 5.91 jump. Thomas Winders and Tyler Tucker have fallen off the pace a bit, but a great deal of events remain.

1:20: No changes here in the last 15 minutes. I believe the decathletes are down to their final long jump, and I will post results when I get them. Liberty has the early lead in the men's competition, with nineteen team points coming off the strength of three top-eight finishes in the javelin. This is a unique setup, unlike anything I've ever blogged before...Certain times (like now) are very slow, with little to comment on, while other times are fast (like Saturday will be) and leave little time.

1:05: Decathlon long jump is underway, with the heptathlon high jump just about to begin. There will be a brief pause while I enjoy my lunch, a hamburger provided by a concession facility here at RU.

12:36: First scoring update is now posted on RU's Championship site, available above.

12:30: McCann finished with an 18.52 clocking, and appeared to hit a pair of hurdles during the effort. She will be 11th going to the next event.

12:25: We're underway with the 110-meter hurdles in the heptathlon, now up to the second of three section. Zipporah McCann will be in the final section.

12:18:

Decathlon point totals -

Newell (LU) 852

Brusich (GWU) 769

Harmon (CCU) 767

Bowles (CSU) 763

Murray (LU) 755

Garcia (VMI) 748

Woodbridge (LU) 746

Munson (VMI) 723

12:10: After one event in the decathlon, Michael Munson is eighth and Richard Garcia is sixth. Obviously, the point totals will be very close for the next event or two, but we'll post them when we're able to do so. The javelin results saw freshman Justin McCarthy with a strong 49.56 M (162'7") to place 10th, while Chad Lawson came home in 13th (42.27 M, 138'8"). The next event will be the heptathlon 100-meter hurdles, featuring sophomore Zipporah McCann.

12:06: Tucker finishes eighth in the heat, in 12.23, but his strongest events (particularly the pole vault) are yet to come. They are announcing the results of the javelin right now, and we'll get those to you as soon as possible.  

12:00: The decathlon is underway, with the first heat of the 100-meter dash. Richard Garcia, Michael Munson and Thomas Winders finished third, fourth and fifth in the opening heat (in that order), and Tyler Tucker will take part in the final heat, which is about to head to the starting blocks. Most of the rest of the team is slowly filing toward the bus to return to the motel, but we'll stay and keep blogging.

11:32 a.m.: All the related links are now up in this article. Some readers may be curious about live scoring, and we do have an update on that. Due to a technical issue that the company doing the scoring is having, the results cannot be updated "live". However, Radford is planning to post an update once an hour on their BSC T & F Championship page, linked above. That will be available by clicking on the "live scoring" link on that page.

11:13 a.m.: Forgot to give an update on the weather. It's approximately 60 degrees here at the home of the Highlander track and soccer programs. Perfect weather in the sun, but in the shade (where I am, and where some of the team is), it can be pretty brisk.

11:08 a.m.: Not much going on here at this point. I managed to put up some photos in a gallery, so please take a look at those. We'll try to get javelin results when we can, things can proceed slowly at track meets. We're still trying to get the feel of the facility as a whole. The team, minus the multi-event participants, will go to the hotel at noon to unload their gear. Not sure whether I will stay here or go with them at that point.

10:40 a.m.: All right, it's time for our first live update from Radford. I, along with Paul Carmany, track SID from Liberty, am settled up in the press facilities here at Cupp Stadium. The men's javelin throw is taking place right now, but the throwing area is approximately 1/2 mile from the stadium and is not visible, so coverage of throwing events throughout the weekend will be difficult. We just heard the first call for the decathlon check-in, with the first event scheduled to go off at noon.

10: Team arrives at Patrick D. Cupp Stadium at Radford University. Coach Webb comes and delivers some final pre-meet instructions to the team.  

8:40: Bus leaves. 

8:28 a.m.: Donnie Cowart bounces onto the bus, looking particularly excited to head to Radford. The bus is running a bit behind schedule at this point.

7:49 a.m.: The team is currently planning to leave from Cormack Field House, aka "The Pit", at 8:30 a.m. That would put us to Radford's Cupp Stadium at approximately 10 a.m., the time of the men's javelin throw, if not a bit earlier. However, a handful of team members, including the javelin competitors, are already in Radford, having traveled there last night after classes.