Track and Field | 12/6/2009 2:06:11 PM

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The Methodist University track and field team kicked off the 2009-10 season at the Holiday Open hosted by Christopher Newport University.

The Monarchs traveled to Newport News, Va. with 20 student-athletes competing amongst 22 other teams and more than 700 athletes.

Methodist junior Kristyn Zeiler led the women with two school records. Zeiler broke Cathi O'Neill's 21 year old record in the 800 meter with a time of 2:29.62 to finish 11th before surpassing her own record in the mile at 5:19.08 to place third.

Freshman Ruby Blackwell made her collegiate debut finishing 17th in the 55 meters at 7.49 seconds and a personal best 26.25 in the 200 meters for 12th place. Sophomore Ashlynn Chavis finished fifth in the long jump with a leap of 5.49 meters, reaching a provisional qualifying mark for the NCAA National Championships in March.

Freshman Allison Ray also made her mark with a personal best 9.83 meters in the shot put.

On the men's side, freshman Stefan Johnson had personal bests in the 55 and 200 meters during his first collegiate meet. Johnson placed 11th in the finals of the 55 meters after running 6.52 in the preliminaries and 6.53 in the finals. He finished 10th in the 200 meters in 22.95 seconds. Senior Cedric McGill was not far behind finishing 16th in the 55 meters in 6.57 seconds and junior Greg Bailey placed 11th in the 200 meters with a time of 23.10 seconds.

Freshman Aaron Holmes ran a personal best 52.07 in the 400 meters to finish 18th and freshman Lloyd Bronner placed sixth in the 600 meters in 1:26.27. Sophomore Petros Bein qualified for the finals of the 55 meter hurdles and finished sixth in 7.79 seconds.

Junior Alex Spencer finished 10th in the pole vault (3.60 m) and threw a personal best 8.88 meters in the shot put. Freshman Pierson Singleton led the Monarchs in the long jump with a 10th place finish (6.56 m) while freshman Chauncey Edwards paced the team in the triple jump at 13.19 meters for ninth place. Freshman Cornell Jones was tenth in the triple at 13.14 meters.

The Monarchs' next meet will take place Jan. 22-23, 2010 at Hampton University.

55 meters
17.	Ruby Blackwell	7.49
52.	Kate Ramsay	8.35
55.	Katelyn Jarrell	8.98
200 meters
12.	Ruby Blackwell	26.25!
57.	Ashlynn Chavis	28.87
66.	Morgan Artis	29.69
72.	Kate Ramsay	30.43
77.	Katelyn Jarrell	33.62
400 meters
51.	Morgan Artis	1:09.86
800 meters
11.	Kristyn Zeiler	2:29.62!s
23.	Katie Ballard	2:56.01
Mile
3.	Kristyn Zeiler	5:19.08!s
Long Jump
5.	Ashlynn Chavis	5.49+
Triple Jump
26.	Ruby Blackwell	9.85
29.	Morgan Artis	9.47
Shot Put
27.	Allison Ray	9.83!
55 meters - Preliminaries
12.	Stefan Johnson	6.52!
16.	Cedric McGill	6.57
33.	Greg Bailey	6.64
41.	Aaron Holmes	6.73
48.	A.J. Meadows	6.80
52.	Pierson Singleton	6.84
53.	Petros Bein	6.84
55 meters - Finals
11.	Stefan Johnson	6.53
200 meters
10.	Stefan Johnson	22.95!
11.	Greg Bailey	23.10
25.	Petros Bein	23.73
30.	Pierson Singleton	23.92
43.	Lloyd Bronner	24.32
51.	Cedric McGill	24.65
400 meters
18.	Aaron Holmes	52.07!
46.	Cornell Jones	55.46
600 meters
6.	Lloyd Bronner	1:26.27
800 meters
23.	Keon Hannibal	2:15.29!
55 meter Hurdles - Preliminaries
8.	Petros Bein	7.88
55 meter Hurdles - Finals
6.	Petros Bein	7.79!
Pole Vault
10.	Alex Spencer	3.60
Long Jump
10.	Pierson Singleton	6.56
15.	Chauncey Edwards	6.40
18.	Cornell Jones	6.34
37.	Alex Spencer	4.96
Triple Jump
9.	Chauncey Edwards	13.19
10.	Cornell Jones	13.14
14.	Pierson Singleton	12.50
Shot Put
25.	Alex Spencer	8.88!

* - NCAA Automatic Qualifier, + - NCAA Provisional Qualifier, ! - Personal Record (Indoors), s - School Record (Indoors)

Complete Results