April 22, 2011

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A portion of the Memphis track and field squad traveled to Nashville for the Vanderbilt Invitational. The pole vaulters and throwers were participants in the event, and will join the remainder of the squad at tomorrow's Mississippi Open.

Headlining the Tigers in Nashville was sophomore Tom Willcox, who won the shot put with a career-best and Memphis season-best 16.50m (54' 1.75") mark. Sophomore Andrew Miller also established a personal-best with a 16.42m (53' 10.50") toss.

Sophomore transfer Casey Carl won his third javelin throw as a member of the blue and gray, besting his next-closest competitor by nearly 20 feet. Carl's 57.32m (188' 1") was his third-farthest as a Tiger.

Freshman Austin Crenshaw set a personal-best in the pole vault at 4.95m (16' 2.75"), finishing runner-up. Three Tiger pole vaulters (Crenshaw, Nate Arnold and Karlis Pujats) have now eclipsed 16 feet in the event in 2011, which would most likely give Memphis three scorers in the pole vault at the C-USA Championships if all three could do a reasonable replication of those marks come conference time.

On the women's side, senior Marina Vojinovic earned her fifth top-five finish of the outdoor season, placing fifth with a 14.44m (47' 4.50") mark in the shot put.

The largest faction of the Memphis squad will compete in Oxford, Miss., tomorrow for the Mississippi Open, an all-day event scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Coach Doug Clark's middle distance runners will be at the John McDonnell Invite in Arkansas, where storms in the area delayed Friday's events.