Cardinal Track Team Garners Five Wins At Cincinnati Open
July 11, 2000 | Track & Field
January 22, 2000
CINCINNATI - In its first meet in more than a month, the University of Louisville women's indoor track team showed no signs of rust as the Cardinals picked up five wins Saturday at the Cincinnati Open.
A strong contingent of freshmen sprinters helped the Cardinals earn four of six places in the finals of the 55m dash. Led by freshman Marian McDonald's time of 7.18 seconds, the top three U of L finishers turned in faster times than the previous school record.
Sophomore thrower Shola Kadiri continued her successful indoor campaign, recording a new school record in the 20lb. weight (52-7.75) and also winning the shot put with a throw of 44-4.75. Freshman Brittany Hedgepeth took home a first in the long jump (18-5.75) and a third in the 55m dash (7.35), while Delicia Haynes won the triple jump.
The Cardinal vaulters remained undefeated for the indoor season as sophomore Cindy Roberson captured the event with a vault of 10-0. Roberson's performance, coupled with that of Randalene Sergant's vault of 10-6 in the season-opener in December, gives the Cardinals two vaulters who have reached the 10-foot mark.
On the men's side, footballer Zek Parker picked up an easy win in the 55m high hurdles with a school-record time of 7.50 and also finished third in the 55m dash with a personal-best time of 6.39.
A group of sophomores took home a victory in the 4x400m relay (3:21.99), narrowly edging host Cincinnati's relay team, and jumpers Stanley Tanyhill and Gary Overstreet finished 1-2 in the triple jump.
"This is probably the best we have ever been following the Christmas break," said head coach Gene Weis. "Our men's 4x400 win was a real 'shot in the arm' for the program. All of our people were really into that race. We're healthy and we're getting good efforts from all our top performers. If this meet is any indication, we could be looking at our most successful year in recent memory!"
