ATLANTA – Charleston Southern outdoor track and field placed four of its five runners in the women's 1500 meters in the program's all-time Top 10 times, highlighting day one action at the Georgia Tech Invitational in the Peach State capital city Friday.

NEARLY ALL ENTER TOP 10
The pack of Buccaneers to participate in the 1500 meters consisted of five runners, four of whom established new personal-record times on their way to earning or remaining among the school's career listing.

Anne Akagi led the way with a 32nd-place time of 4:39.87, the third fastest in CSU history. Each of the remaining slots filled in the Top 10 were every other place, as Sarah McCartney clocked the fifth fastest at 4:42.34, edging out teammate Sommer McKenzie's seventh-best time of 4:43.17 as the par crossed the finish line in 40th and 41st, respectively. The other Bucs runner to set a new personal record and garnering the ninth-quickest time in program history was Zanelle Willemse with a 4:45.62, finishing 46th in the race. Keerstin Augustin nearly topped her PR as she recorded a time of 4:51.63.

DISTANCE RUNNERS MADE OUTDOOR DEBUT
Two Buccaneers competed for the first time during the outdoor campaign, both entering the 5000 meters. Taylor Barnes had the upper-hand over Caroline Inman with a personal-record time of 17:33.47, which slides her up to second in program history behind Inman's school standard set three years ago.

THROWERS GET SOME ACTION
Charleston Southern also had three members of its roster compete in field events, as Emily Danielsson, Layla Senter and Kaitlyn Migneault all had turns with the hammer throw, while Migneault registered the only mark in the shot put.

UP NEXT
The final day of the meet will take place Saturday, while other Bucs are closer to home in Columbia at the UofSC Open for its only day of competition.

FULL CHARLESTON SOUTHERN RESULTS
1500 Meters (98 athletes)
             Anne Akagi                   32^nd      4:39.87 
            Sarah McCartney          40^th      4:42.34 
            Sommer McKenzie        41^st       4:43.17 
            Zanelle Willemse           46^th      4:45.62 
            Keerstin Augustin          56^th      4:51.63
5000 Meters (65 athletes)
             Taylor Barnes               14^th      17:33.47 
            Caroline Inman             24^th      18:13.88
Hammer Throw (34 athletes)
             Emily Danielsson          15^th      43.85m (143'10")
            Layla Senter                 18^th      41.50m (136'2")
            Kaitlyn Migneault           25^th      36.43m (119'6")
Shot Put (42 athletes)
             Kaitlyn Migneault           18^th      12.72m (41'8.75")
            Layla Senter                 FOUL