The indoor track and field team has posted some very strong finishes so far, this year.
The men’s and women’s teams kicked off the new year at Rutgers University in Piscataway, NJ the weekend of January 6-7 in the Rutgers Invitational. Monmouth won a combined 14 events for the men’s and women’s team, the most at the meet since 2003.
Vince Elardo shined once again, after winning back-to-back Northeast Field Athlete of the Week honors. He came in first place with a throw of 17.26 m. in the shot put event. He also finished in first place in the weight throw with a throw of 17.23 m.
Shane Carle finished in fourth place in the shot put with a throw of 15.29 m. In the weight throw, Taylor Bernstein posted a third-place finish with a distance of 13.84 m.
In the long jump, Joshua Lewis finished in second with a jump of 6.67 m. Stevenson Cajuste followed with a third-place finish, posting a mark of 6.44 m.
For the women, Lindsey Walsh qualified for the ECAC Championships in March after she recorded a high jump of 1.70 m. She also finished in third in the long jump. In the pole vault, Lauren MacDonald finished in first place with a mark of 3.2 m.
In the shot put, Rachael Aliotta came in first place with a mark of 13.02 m.
The next and final day of the meet for the Hawks was promising. Rachael Watkins posted a first-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.15 seconds. Amanda Eller finished in first in the 1000 meter run with a time of 2:57.26.
In the 60-meter dash, Lachelle took first with a time of 7.95 seconds. In the mile run, Jennifer Nelson claimed first place with a time of 5:15.81. In the 400-meter run, Laura Williams finished in first with a time of 58.70.
On that Saturday, the men also continued to post strong finishes. Chris Rutherford claimed first place in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.53 seconds. Khari Bowen finished in first place in the mile run posting a time of 4:22.85. In the 1000-meter run, Ford Palmer claimed first place with a time of 2:27.85.
The following weekend, the Hawks were scheduled to travel to West Point, NY to compete in Army’s six team meet.
For the men, Geoff Navarro claimed first place in the 60-yard dash with a time of 7.04, qualifying him for the IC4A Championships. Navarro also took first place in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.58. In the like run, Ford Palmer took first with a time of 4:14.73, also qualifying him for the IC4A’s.
Khari Bowen came in second place in the 3000-meter run with a time of 8:35.57, which was a new freshman record. This past week, Bowen received Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week honors for his record setting finish. Bowen was also recognized four times during the cross country season for his stand out performances.
Elardo once again dominated in both the shot put and weight throw, claiming first place in both.
On the women’s side, Rachael Watkins finished in second place in the 400 meter dash with a time of 1:01.52. Colleen Rutecki took third place in the 500-meter dash with a time of 1:18.57.
In the mile run, Amanda Eller came in first with a time of 4:58.57, qualifying her for the ECAC Championships. First place spots were also taken by Lindsey Walsh and Rachael Aliotta.
This past weekend, some of the team competed in the Great Dane Invitational in New York City while some competed in the Lehigh Mountain Hawk Invitational in Bethlehem, PA.
For the men, Vince Elardo finished in first in shot put with a distance of 18.31 m/60’1”. It was good enough to qualify him for the USA Championships. Elardo came in second in the eight throws with a mark of 18.89 m/61’11.75”.
On the women’s side, Jen Nelson came in first place in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:27.30, qualifying for the ECAC’s. On Saturday morning, Monmouth posted some solid finishes at Lehigh.
Darvin Henderson finished in fifth place in the triple jump with a mark of 12.78 m/41’11.25”. In the shot put, Dan D’Amato finished in sixth place with a mark of 14.18 m/46’6.25”.
For the women, Kim Price came in third place in the triple jump with a mark of 11.06 m/36’8” and in the shot put, Amber Brown finished in fifth place with a distance of 11.65 m/38’2.75” followed by team-mate Taylor Johnson who finished in sixth place with a mark of 11.33 m/37’2.25”.
The Hawks will return to action this weekend when some of the athletes will compete in the Terrier Classic at Boston University. Some of the others will be competing in the Bison Open at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania.
The Hawks next home meet will be next Wednesday, where they will be competing in the Moonlight in the MAC meet at 4:00 pm.
PHOTO COURTESY of MU Photography
