COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Wildcats track & field squad opened the 2014 indoor season on a strong note, despite a limited traveling squad, notching 11 top-three finishes at the South Carolina Indoor Open #1 meet, Saturday at the University of South Carolina Indoor Complex.

A pair of freshmen on the men's side put their names on the map, earning first place in their respective events in their first collegiate competition, both in the field events. Kenneth Fisher topped the field in the long jump with a distance of 7.25m (23-09.50 ft.), while Ed'Ricus Williams led the high jump with a mark of 2.03m (6-08.00 ft.).

Joining Fisher in the top tier of the long jump event were fellow newcomers Nicholas Williams in fourth (6.82m - 22-04.50 ft.) and Demetrius Rooks in fifth (6.80m - 22-03.75 ft.), while upperclassmen Keron Stoute (6.52m - 21-04.75 ft.) and La'Quan Howard (6.49m - 21-03.50 ft.) came in eighth and ninth, respectively. Stoute also finished second in the high jump, just two inches shy of Williams at 1.98m (6-06.00 ft.), ahead of newcomer Terrell Campbell at 1.88m (6-02.00 ft.).

For the women, Breonca Reid led the Wildcats in the LJ, hitting a mark of 5.39m (17-08.25 ft.) for third, followed by Deidra Jordan (fourth, 5.38m - 17-08.00 ft.), Rayanna Johnson (sixth, 5.07m - 16-07.75 ft.), Kasie Trigg (seventh, 4.85m - 15-11.00 ft.) and Cenita Sanders (eighth, 4.71m - 15-05.50 ft.).

Topping the women's squad, Desiree Richardson finished first with a personal record in the weight throw of 13.79m (45-03.00 ft.), while also claiming second in the shot put with a throw of 13.64m (44-09.00 ft.). On the men's side of the throws, Barry Kimbrough threw 13.99m (45-10.75 ft.) for third in the shot put.

Juliette Hyppolite hit a mark of 1.57m (5-01.75 ft.) in the women's high jump to earn second, while Rayanna Johnson was third at 1.52m (4-11.75 ft.), and transfer newcomer Trigg was fourth at 1.52m (4-11.75 ft.).

Marking the highest performance of the day in the sprints, sophomore Tristie Johnson tied South Carolina's Vashti Bandy for third in the 55m dash with a time of 7.10, matching her preliminary ranking. Breonca Reid (7.17) and Shalaneya Bryant (7.31) joined Johnson in the final, finishing sixth and eighth, respectively. For the men, Angelo Cabrera (6.55) and Derrick Higdon were eighth and ninth in the 55m.

Rayanna Johnson topped the hurdlers in the 55m hurdles, coming in sixth in the final with a time of 8.73, ahead of Jordan in seventh at 8.92. Stoute (8.39) and Curtis Riggins (9.04) finished eighth and ninth respectively, in the men's hurdles.

Riggins also notched a third-place finish in the men's pole vault with a height of 3.95m (12-11.50 ft.), while freshman Keyoshia Harris was eighth in the women's pole vault at 2.30m (7-06.50 ft.).

“It was a great opportunity to gauge if what we did in the fall stuck with the team over the holiday break,” Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Donald Cooper said. “We had many of the athletes take advantage of opportunity to compete today. The staff did an outstanding job in preparing our athletes and we had a lot of good performances.”

“We still have a lot of work to do in order to be competitive with the rest of the conference teams which are off to great starts this season,” Cooper added.

The Wildcats return to action next Friday (Jan. 17) in Gainesville, Fla., competing in the Jimmy Carnes Invitational.

For all the latest information on the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, including meet results and recaps, visit B-CUathletics.com. Be sure to follow the official Twitter feeds at @CookmanTrack and @BCUathletics or "Like Us" on Facebook at BCUAthletics.

-B-CUathletics.com-