2011-12 Track and Field Recap
The 2011-12 VMI track and field season saw the graduation of standouts and the emergence of new stars during the seven-month long season.
One of the best middle distance runners in VMI history, Felix Kitur, wrapped up his career during the 2011-12 campaign. Kitur had been given a fifth outdoor year due to an injury suffered during his sophomore year, and he performed well in the fifth season. He won both the 800 and 1500 meter runs at the Big South Outdoor Championships, becoming only the second athlete to accomplish that feat in back to back years, and with the 800 win, he became the first Big South athlete to ever win a conference title in an event five times, indoors or outdoors. Kitur would also go on to win the IC4A title and both of his heats at the Preliminary Round in Jacksonville, Fla., giving him six career wins in eight tries at that meet. His career ended with a 17th-place finish at the NCAA Championships, a result aided in part by a late race collision during his heat. Kitur ended his career as a four-time NCAA qualifier and now trains with the Santa Monica Track Club in California.
Meanwhile, on the women's side, the Keydets graduated school pole vault record holder Jennifer Sing. Sing won the Big South title indoors and went on to clear 4.05 meters (13'3 1/2") at the first outdoor meet, marking the second-best jump in Big South history. She wrapped up her career with another All-Big South honor outdoors and a third-place finish at the ECAC Championships, her third straight scoring performance at that meet, a new Keydet best. Her final meet was the NCAA Preliminary Round in Jacksonville, where she finished 35th overall. Sing would go on to attend Naval Flight School in the Sunshine State, doing so in Pensacola, Fla.
The Keydets will return multiple athletes who performed well last year, including senior decathlete Antonio Wood. Wood, who broke assistant coach Garrett Brickner's school heptathlon record last season, had a breakout campaign in his junior year. Not only did he grab Brickner's mark, but he was named Most Outstanding Field Performer at the conference indoor meet, where he scored 22 individual points, including 10 with a victory in the heptathlon. He went on to finish third in that event at indoor IC4A's before finishing second in the outdoor IC4A decathlon, following a runner-up result at the Big South Outdoor meet. Wood scored in the high jump and long jump both indoors and outdoors, and in fact, was an IC4A qualifier in both events during the indoor campaign.
Andrey Dmitriev also battled through injuries to record several strong outings, highlighted by an indoor conference title in the mile. Dmitriev also finished third in the 800 at that meet, and went on to place second in the 1,500 and fourth in the 5K outdoors. He qualified for IC4A's in both the mile (indoors) and 1,500 (outdoors) for the second straight year, and narrowly missed a Preliminary Round berth in the 1,500.
Jenna Moye, one of the women's team captains, enjoyed a strong year as well. Moye set school records in both the indoor and outdoor 800-meter run, and finished seventh at the conference's indoor meet in that event. She also was fifth in the 1,500 at the Big South Outdoor Championships, as she was able to recover from nagging injuries suffered during the 2011 cross country campaign.
Other 2011-12 highlights included Kate Collins earning all-conference honors in the pole vault, thanks to a third-place finish indoors. Collins was also an ECAC qualifier indoors, her third career qualification effort. Sophomore Mary Grace Lemon scored in multiple events at the conference meets (weight throw indoors, discus outdoors), while freshman Renee Reives scored indoors and outdoors in the shot put. Fellow freshman Emily Dinning qualified for the USATF Junior Nationals in three events.
On the men's side, Jacob Lysher qualified for IC4A's in the 800-meters (indoors) and earned all-Big South honors, while Ademola Titcombe added another Big South title to his resume in his final season, winning the indoor triple jump. Titcombe also finished fifth in that event outdoors, and qualified for IC4A's both indoors and outdoors.
