The Lady Rattlers entered the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Indoor Championship with a top-five finish on its mind. But they did one better, leaving Landover, Md. in fourth place instead.
FAMU finished first in the standings during the first day of competition, second during the second day and fourth on the third. The team had 55 points overall on the weekend.
The Lady Rattlers showed a lot of improvement from last year, as they finished seventh in 2011.
Some of the Lady Rattlers earned top three finishes, including Chandelic Jackson and Nadine Mulvany. Jackson came in second in the 5000m run (18:36.93) while Mulvany came in third (18:37.04). Ciera Williams came in 10th place (19:56.04), earning a top-10 finish while Clarricia Golden bolted to 11th place (19:56.47).
Jackson would later finish fourth in the mile run. Ariel Allen (5:22.12) and Nichola Listhrop (5:23.57) finished 10th and 11th in the mile, respectively.
“What we did this weekend really shows our program is getting better,” Jackson said. “We have learned what we need to really compete.”
Mulvany, who also earned a fourth-place finish in the 3000m run (10:39.45), said she is very proud of the team’s championship performance. She said the team is strong both mentally and physically and is capable of earning top finishes in any meet.
“The team has come a long way since last year,” Mulvanysaid.
Jackson (11:02.79) and Golden (11:31.04) followed Mulvany in the 3000m run, finishing 11th and 15th, respectively.
Head coach Darlene Moore was equally as impressed with the team’s performance. She said her players executed what they practiced all season. Given the strong championship performance, Moore said she is excited about the upcoming outdoor season.
“The young ladies really fought hard for the (MEAC) championship,” Moore said. “We should use the momentum from this tournament to get a good start in the outdoor season.”
Ariel Allen darted to third place in the 800m run in a time of 2:10.72 followed by Jackson in 19th place (2:21.82).
The distance medley relay team – Dynasty Jones,Listhrop, Allen and Jackson – displayed a dominant performance, blazing to third place in a time of (12:27.77).
In another team display, the 4 x 400m relay team –Jeanette Hulse, RaTeema Stanley, Jones and Allen – pushed to seventh place in a time of 3:51.96, earning a top-10 finish.
Nakia Linson (5.59m) and Jones (5.46m) earned top-10 finishes in the long jump, finishing fifth and seventh, respectively. Jones would later earn fifth place (11.69m) in the triple jump.
In the pole vault, Brittany Brown sprang to sixth place, recording a distance of 2.74m.
Sasha-Ann Lambert recorded seventh place in the weight throw (14.26m) and eighth in the shot put (12.63m).
Stephanie Colter leapt to 13th place in the high jump with a distance of 1.57m.
This tournament concluded the indoor track and field season. The outdoor track season starts on March 8.