Winthrop hurdler Love continues to set school records

Winthrop junior hurdler Alesha Love broke her own 400-meter hurdles school record, and several other Eagle track and field athletes turned in strong performances this past weekend during the Florida Relays.

Love (Columbia, S.C.) ran the 400-meter hurdles in 59.89 seconds and finished as the eighth best collegian, and 14th overall in the event. Her time bettered the previous school record of 1:00.58 that she set two weeks ago during the Charlotte 49ers Classic.

Freshman distance runner Kevin Mills (Suwanee, Ga.), ran the second fastest Winthrop time ever in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of a 9:11.00 to finish in 12th place and move into the top 10 freshman times in the nation. His time also qualifies him for the U.S. Track and Field Junior Nationals this summer.

Freshman javelin thrower Preston Elwell (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) also qualified for USATF Junior Nationals with a throw of 56.50 meters that placed him 14th at the relays.

Sophomore Marthaline Cooper (Providence, R.I.) continued her strong efforts in the women’s hammer. She had a throw of 57.66 meters to place seventh in a strong field where the top four finishers are at the top of the NCAA’s hammer athlete rankings.

Senior Jake Elliott (Williamstown, W.Va.) placed 11th in the men’s hammer throw with a distance of 50.00 meters.

Cooper, Love and Mills are currently ranked in the top 48 performances in their events that qualify them for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field East Preliminaries in Jacksonville, Fla. on May 28-30.

This story was originally published April 6, 2015 at 10:16 AM with the headline "Winthrop hurdler Love continues to set school records."