1/28/2009 - MEN'S INDOOR TRACK Dunston posts fastest time in the A-Sun 60-meter

MACON, Ga. - Campbell opened its 2009 track and field season at the Liberty Open over the weekend. Sprinter Greg Dunston posted the Atlantic Sun's fastest time this season in 60-meter dash to earn his first career Athlete of the Week Award, the conference announced Wednesday.

Dunston led Campbell track & field on the final day of competition at the Liberty Open in Lynchburg, Va. The Raleigh, N.C., native grabbed his first win of the indoor season in the men's 60-meter, posting the top qualifying time of 6.95, the only competitor to break the 7.00 barrier. Dunston then bettered his time, finishing with a 6.93 clip to take the victory.

In the men's 200, the 2008 Third-Team All-Conference performer walked away with his second win of the day, claiming a time of 22.83. The criminal justice major landed second on the A-Sun top performers list, falling by 0.46 seconds after last week’s Athlete of the Week, ETSU’s Quentin Greenlee.

Campbell is back in action this weekend in Chapel Hill, N.C., competing in the Carolina Classic on Jan. 30-31.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

Other Top Performers:
Nic Chernikow, ETSU (Multis - Seymour, Tenn - Jr. - Finance) -- Chernikow etched his name into the ETSU record books this weekend, as he set a new school record in the heptathlon at the Liberty Open, located on the Tolsma Indoor Track. Chernikow, who broke Mike Wright’s previous mark in the event by 192 points, finished third overall with 4770 points. Following Friday night';s first four events, Chernikow bagged 2622 points. Chernikow collected half his points on Friday night in the 60-meter dash and long jump. The Seymour, Tenn. native finished second in both events, tallying 844 points in the 60m and 659 points in the long jump. The junior standout ended with a time of 7.11 in the 60m and posted a mark of 20-09.25 (6.33m) in the long jump. On Saturday, Chernikow was able to make his move in the 60-meter hurdles. The Seymour, Tenn. native won the hurdles by finishing with a top time of 8.63 and collected 829 points.

Justin Crawford, USC Upstate (Pole Vault - Elgin, S.C. - So. - Biology) -- Finished fourth behind competitors from Lees-Mcrae, Appalachian State, and Wilmington College with a height of 4.20 meters. Crawford's finish of 4.20-meters in the men's pole vault event at the UNC Classic was a key highlight for the Spartans, as he earned a fourth-place finish of 14 competitors, where the minimum distance to be recorded was 4.00 meters.

James Verdi, Kennesaw State (Sprints - Alpharetta, Ga. - So. - English Education) -- Verdi took third place out of 47 competitors in the 800-meter dash at the UNC Classic on Saturday. His time of 1 minute, 54.4 seconds set a new Kennesaw State record. The Owls' record was actually broken twice on Saturday, as Gianni Catalano broke his own record in the first heat of the race with a time of 1:54.89. A few minutes later, Verdi took possession of the record in the second heat. In their last meet, two weeks ago at Clemson, Verdi set an Owls record in the 400-meter dash.

Weekly Notes:
Campbell- The Camels posted four individual wins at the Liberty Open to open its 2009 indoor track & field season. Senior sprinter Greg Dunston won both the men’s 60 and 200 meter dashes while sophomore Baillie Locke won the women's 5000 meters and sophomore Robert Brunson won the men’s long jump.

Locke, an All-Atlantic Sun cross country athlete in the fall, recorded a time of 18:19.59 to win the 5000 meters at the Tolsma Indoor Track Facility. Brunson also won the men's long jump with a leap of 7.15 meters.

Seniors Verrelle Wyatt and Ken Eichberg took the number two and four spots in the men’s 5K, notching times of 15:23.53 and 15:48.46, respectively. Sophomore Adoniss Jones, after qualifying for second in the event with a time of 8.29, lowered his time to an 8.11 to break teammate Harold Sims' CU record of 8.14, set just one year ago. Sims, meanwhile, also made the cut in the contest with a mark of 8.46, finishing fifth with a time of 8.56.