BLACKSBURG, Va. -- East Carolina's men's and women's track and field teams got off to a solid start in day one of the Virginia Tech Challenge, being held this weekend in Blacksburg, Va.

The two teams combined for top-10 finishes in four events -- two for the women and two for the men.

Competition continues tomorrow with a majority of ECU's top events still to come.

For the ECU women, Johanna Allen placed eighth in the 5,000-meter run, coming in at 18:24.33. Lauren Miller ran 10th in the 500 meters at 1:20.52

In the 60-meter dash, Darneshea Jones ran a personal-best 7.71 in the preliminaries and just missed qualifying for the semifinals.

A select group of ECU men are participating in the meet. The Pirates got top-10 showings from Eric Frasure, who was eighth in the weight throw, clearing 56-11.5, and the distance medley relay team, which came in third at 10:23.20.

In the men's 60-meter hurdles, Hector Cotto advanced to the semifinals with a personal-best time of 8.26, coming just .01 shy of the IC4A qualifying mark. In the semifinals, however, he failed to finish among the top eight to advance to the event finals.

Virginia Tech Challenge
Friday, Feb. 13, 2004 - Day One

RESULTS: ECU WOMEN

60 Meters
    Darneshea Jones       7.79 (prelims)

60-Meter Hurdles
    Nicole Callaham       9.40 (prelims)
    Sharon Heilig         9.80 (prelims)

500 Meters
10. Lauren Miller         1:20.52
11. Simone Baptiste       1:20.53
15. Brie Berkowitz        1:23.36

5,000 Meters
 8. Johanna Allen         18:24.33

RESULTS: ECU MEN

60-Meter Hurdles
    Hector Cotto          8.26 (prelims)

Distance Medley Relay
 3. ECU                   10:23.20

Triple Jump
12. Derrick Carr          44-2.75 (13.48m)

Weight Throw
 8. Eric Frasure          56-11.5 (17.36m)
14. Mayso Porch           49-8.75 (15.16m)