Munro establishes AU standard in the 1,500-meter run
By Anna Biondolillo | Sports writer
ATLANTA—The AU track-and-field teams set the stage for one last meet this past weekend before heading to the Peach Belt Conference Championships set for May 1-2 in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The Jaguars ran in the Georgia Tech Invitational on April 17-18, a meet with strong competition to push all of the Jaguar athletes to their limits. The stakes were high, as this was the last opportunity for individuals to hit their conference marks to be able to compete in the championships, and this team blew those standards out of the water.
Starting on the women’s side, freshman Caleigh Munro ran an impressive 1,500-meter race, setting a school record with a time of 4 minutes and 41.81 seconds. She finished 41st out of 104 of the region’s best runners. She also competed in the 800-meter race.
“It’s so cool to see all the hard work with practice and training pay off,” said the runner from Greenbriar High School.
Standout distance runners Madison Thomas and Gabby Jourdain also raced the 1,500 meters to get some speed work in before conference, and it seems these two have nothing the can’t do. Thomas ran the race in 4 minutes and 47.29 seconds, earning her a spot as fifth in program history, while Jourdain ran a time of 4 minutes and 45.09 seconds, making her third in program history.
On the sprint side of things, freshman Thanna Davis set a new school record in the women’s 400-meter dash with a time of 56.70 seconds, making her fourth in the conference. It seems like everyone has a conference on the brain, Davis said.
“My 400 time here at Georgia Tech puts me in a really good spot going into the preliminary heat at conference,” Davis said.
Not only did Davis do phenomenally in the 400-meter race, but she was also a part of the 4x400 relay team, which also broke another school record, with a time of 3 minutes and 50.66 seconds. Davis, Kennedy McDonald, Cameron Wade and Ava Adams collectively ran this relay. Davis sounded very confident in her team when talking about the conference championships.
“Now we’re No. 1 in the conference; however, I don’t think that conference is the goal for our 4-by-4 team. We’re chasing that national provisional mark.”
On the men’s side of things, the Jaguars’ 4x400-meter relay team also broke the school record by racing in a time of 3 minutes and 14.87 seconds. Roberto Barrera, Mykel Thompson, Dorian Chance and Charlie Roberts manned this relay.
Barrera reflected on the race.
“The conditions weren't ideal, but despite that, there was a great performance to run the school record, which talks a lot about the potential we have,” he said.
Another outstanding performance was from freshman Tra’vontae Smith, who tied the school record for men’s shotput with a distance of 14.62 meters.
The Georgia Tech meet served as a confidence boost for the Jaguars as they get ready to travel to Daytona Beach to compete in the PBC conference championship.
Note: At the top of the page, distance specialist Gabby Jourdain did some speed training in the Georgia Tech meeting, running the 1,500 meters in 4:45.09. (photo by Lydia Williams/the Bell Ringer)
Contact Anna Biondolillo at ABIONDOLILLO@augusta.edu.
