RALEIGH, N.C. - Junior sprinter Mary Zolga (Raynham, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham) broke her own school record in the 400-meter hurdles to place 19th out of a field of 60 as the women's track & field team participated in the first day of the Raleigh Relays, hosted by NC State.
Zolga's time of 1:04.27 shaved more than a full second off the previous record she set on Mar. 12 at the Palmetto Invitational. She now owns the three fastest times in the event.
Junior Saskia Kalmeijer (Brussels, Belgium/Pope) also represented the Cougars in the 400-meter hurdles. She crossed the finish line with a time of 1:11.17.
Charleston also competed well in the 100-meter hurdles, where freshman Jelain McArthur (Laurens, S.C./Laurens District) placed 17th out of 82 competitors with a time of 14.42 seconds. McArthur is the school recordholder in the event and her time on Friday is the third-fastest in history. Also competing in the event was junior Brynne Johnson (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) who ran a personal-best time of 15.96 seconds, .14 seconds faster than her previous personal record.
Sophomore Emily Smith (Rock Hill, S.C./Northwestern) tied for 10th place in the high jump with a height of 5'5". Friday marked the first time Smith had competed since finishing the indoor season with a jump of 5'9¾" at the Virginia Tech Final Qualifier on Mar. 6.
On the track, sophomore Grace Loba (Orean, Va./Fauquier) paced the Cougars in the 5,000 meters with a time of 18:50.60 to place fourth in the third section of the event. Sophomore Erin Stoddard ran a season-best time of 19:40.78 to place 14th while junior Kristen Jenkins (Cheyenne, Wyo./Cheyenne) crossed the finish line in 20:51.12.
Competition continues tomorrow with Charleston's first event being the 1,500 meters.
