First and Ben

 By Ben Anderson      Marshall Track & Field found plenty of success the last two weeks in the state of Virginia in the JMU Invite and UVA Challenge.      At the JMU Invite, the Thundering Herd earned nine victories with a sweep of the 4×400 relays, Evan Weder winning the men’s high jump, Markayla Moore winning the women’s hammer throw, Hannah Wyler winning the women’s 1500, Tavon Simmons-Roberts winning the 110m Hurdles, as well as Addison Painter and Lara Check sweeping the men’s and women’s long jumps.      Check said that she was proud of teams’ performance at the meet. “There were some tough conditions, but everyone definitely pulled through,” Check said. “There were also some great tailwinds, so that definitely benefited the sprinters especially, and I think we just keep improving in those areas.”      Check has been the highest national ranked athlete through the indoor and outdoor seasons for the Thundering Her...

 By Ben Anderson      Marshall softball (23-19, 9-6) aims to get back to its winning ways this weekend when it hosts the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (31-12, 9-6).           The Thundering Herd has lost six of its last 10 and dropped its previous two Sun Belt Conferences series to South Alabama and Appalachian State. The Chanticleers swept the Georgia State Panthers in its last Sun Belt Conference series and earned a mid-week 14-5 victory over UNC Greensboro.           The Herd goes up against a Chanticleers team that is dangerous on both sides of the ball, as they are 25-3 on the season when out-hitting opponents, and ranked first in the Sun Belt Conference in home runs with 71. The Chanticleers are ranked 26th in the nation in shutouts with nin.           This weekend will be the battle of standings as Marshall and Coastal Carolina are tied in the Sun Belt Conference Standing...

 By Ben Anderson      Marshall Track & Field had multiple strong performance over the weekend in good old Rocky Top at the Tennessee Invitational.           The Herd found the most success on the track with freshman distance runner Destiny Berryman winning the women’s 5k, and sophomore sprints & hurdles runner Dezire Gee winning the women’s 400 meter-hurdles.      Gee said that she had early struggles in the race but was able to recover.           “Only thing that was playing in my mind was you got to go out there and get after it,” Gee said in an interview with First and Ben. “I mean it’s either now or never. And I went out there and went to the first hurdle I was like dang man, I kind of messed up. But you got to shake back, so I started running, I heard the girl in Lane 5, she ran for Tennessee, her name was Myla Green.”           “Heard her coming and ...