Track and Field has Strong Showing in “Moonlight at the MAC” Tournament
The University track and field team competed twice this past week in anticipation for the upcoming NEC Championships. Last Wednesday, the men’s and women’s teams hosted the “Moonlight in the MAC Classic” in the MAC.
The Hawks were highlighted by some personal records from Tilah Young, Sandra Jean-Romain, and Josh Mann. Mann came up short from qualifying for the IC4A Championships in the triple jump. His mark of 14.25 m/46’9” was not only a personal best mark but was also the fifth best mark in the triple jump for the men in school history.
“We performed to our expectations in about every event,” Coach Compagni said.
Monmouth also featured throwers in the top five finishing for the weight throw. Errol Jeffery’s throw was good enough for first as he was followed by Taylor Bernstein, Dan D’Amato, Ryan Snyder, and Shane Carle. Three Hawks also finished in the top three for shot put, as Shane Carle came in first and was followed by Bernstein and D’Amato.
The Hawks continued to dominate the games. Two Hawks finished in the top two for both the high jump and long jump. Jake Bartlett came in first place in the high jump while Erik Anderson trailed in second. In the long jump, Stevenson Cajuste came in first and Darvin Hendersen finished in second. Cajuste also came in first in the 60 meter hurdle with a time of 8.59 seconds.
In the pole vault, Peter Matano’s mark of 4.57 m/15’ was good enough for first place. He was followed by Tom Jeffers and Jordan Subai, who came in second and third place, respectively. In the mile run, Ryan Mulligan finished in first place with a time of 4:27.04. In the 800 meter run, Alex Leight came in first with a time of 1:59.92.
For the women, Tilah Young recorded a personal record in the weight throw with a distance of 17.55 m/57’7”. In the shot put, Sandra Jean-Romain also recorded a personal record with a mark of 14.21 m/46’7.5’, good enough to qualify her for the ECAC Championships. Rachael Aliotta came in second in the shot put and fourth in the weight throw.
In the pole vault, Lauren McDonald came in first with a mark of 3.35 m/10’11.75.’ Lachelle Wallace came in second in the 60 meter dash. In the mile run, Juliet Smith finished in first with a time of 5:24.44. Kelsey Maher finished in second in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 10:47.34.
In the 400 meter dash, Mel Lewis finished in second place with a time of 1:00.44. In the 200 meter dash, Kafi Daughtry came in second with a time of 27.01. In the 4 x 400 relay, the team of Maguire, Horn, Patrick and Lewis came in first with a time of 4:19.17.
On Friday and Saturday, some members of the men’s and women’s teams competed in the New Balance Invitational at the New York Armory in New York City. Some of the nation’s top teams competed in the event. The event included over 100 schools competing.
On the men’s side, Khari Bowen set a freshman record in the mile run with a time of 4:14.92, coming in 25th place. His time was .02 short of qualifying for the IC4A Championships. Vince Elardo came in ninth place in the weight throw and seventh in the shot put. Ford Palmer finished in eighth place in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:52.43. In the high jump, Ed Kramer came in sixth place with a mark of 1.99 m/6’6’.
For the women, Jennifer Nelson ran the mile run in 4:59.07, which was the fourth best time in school history for the women’s team. Nelson joins Amanda Eller as the only duo in school history to post sub-five minute miles in the same season. The 4 x 800 meter relay team of Amanda Eller, Emily MacEwen, Danielle Toritto and Ali Hehn finished in ninth place with a time of 9:06.89.
“The key is to learn from each opportunity and get stronger every week. We have to execute the details,” Compagni explained.
Monmouth will compete in the Northeast Conference Indoor Championships in Landover, Maryland this weekend.
PHOTO COURTESY of MU Photography
