The Georgia Southern University track and field team is fresh off a busy week where they competed at the Birmingham Invitational and Multis last Wednesday and Thursday.

The Eagles attained seven top-10 finishes and seven top-20 finishes.
The 4x400 meter team had another great finish, taking fourth place with a time of 3:55.12. This event is run after all individual events have taken place, so it usually takes a lot to do well as a team.

“We’re building up some confidence there. It’s a tough event for any school,” first-year coach Marlo Mincey said.
The 60-meter hurdles is also another event where GSU is strong. The school holds the first, second and fourth rank in the Southern Conference rankings.
The SoCon leader 60-meter hurdler, junior Jasmine Billings, placed third in the hurdles with a time of 8.78 seconds, which has her excited. Freshman Taylor Wade placed seventh in the event as well.

“I’ve been doing this seven years now and I love being an Eagle,” Billings said.
She explained that it’s great to be a part of this team because there is a strong bond and everybody has a lot of fun competing with each other. Her ultimate goal here at GSU is to win a ring.

Freshman Kimberley Thomas recorded a ninth place finish in the 400-meter dash. Junior Sara Curry placed fourth in the 5000-meter run with a time of 18:17.86.  

The field unit was also at it again. Freshman Alexis Jacobs and senior Charnelle Wray represented strongly with eighth and ninth place finishes in the shot put.
Shot put, along with the 60m hurdles, is where GSU shines in the SoCon. Sarah Hall and Jacobs are ranked first and third. Wray and Stephanie Hicks are also ranked in the top 20.

Coach Mincey is excited about the progress of her team so far and believes that the event in Birmingham was helpful for the team’s future meets.
“We learned more about our bodies and what to do to be prepared,” Mincey said.

The two-day event had lots of downtime between events and it was important for the team to stay prepared and loose, Mincey said.
Mincey enjoys the camaraderie that the team has and she explained that it’s an important aspect to the team that one really can’t teach.

“We’ve been trying to be consistent across the board. We’re pushing positivity, staying mentally prepared and consistency,” Mincey said.
The next meet for the Eagles will be in Blacksburg, Va. at the VT Elite over the weekend on Feb. 3 and 4.