The men’s and women’s track and field teams both finished in first place during the Fifth Annual MAC Classic on Saturday, Dec. 7. The Classic marked the beginning of their indoor seasons and the first season the team will appear in the Metro Athletic Atlantic Conference. The men and women’s track and field team remains undefeated in The MAC since its doors opened in 2009.
The Hawks swept the women’s top five in the pole vault with junior Lauren McDonald leading the way as she cleared a height of 11 feet, 6 ¼ inches. Sophomore Brittany Papa placed second to McDonald while freshman Casey Sturts followed. Sophomore Tracey Masterson and freshman Danielle Cruickshank completed the women’s top five. The men’s pole vault left the spotlight on sophomore Colton Lambert who recorded a height of 14 feet, 2 ¾ inches to take second place in the competition. Sophomore teammate Tyler Poland finished in third place.
Freshman Anastasia Atkinson and sophomore Rayn Moses earned second and third place respectively in the women’s long jump event. The men’s long jump saw two MU freshmen, George Alexandris and Austin Merritt, finish in first and second place respectively.
MU sealed the top four finishes in the women’s triple jump as junior Kim Price placed first with a jump of 37 feet, 4 ½ inches. Atkinson took second, Moses took third and freshman Victoria Miskel finished fourth. MU’s Liam Vogt placed second in the triple jump.
The high jump featured sophomore Michaela Read who jumped 5’5 to secure a third place finish for the women’s side. Senior Ed Kramer was the top finisher for MU’s men’s high jumpers as he cleared 6 feet, 4 ¼ inches.
MU placed first in both the men’s and women’s shot put. Senior Errol Jeffrey threw 59 feet, 10 ¼ inches to take first overall out of 21 competitors. The distance also qualified him for the IC4A’s. Sophomore Tevin Kirby-Stewart placed third overall for the men.
The women’s shot put was won by senior Rachel Aliotta who threw 46 feet, 3 ¼ inches. The distance also qualified her for the ECAC’s. MU captured third place as well in the shot put with a throw of 39 feet, 8 ¾ inches from senior Tilah Young.
MU’s men were the top six finishers in the weight throw with Jeffrey winning the event at 63 feet, 2 ¾ inches. This distance marked Jeffrey’s second IC4A qualifying mark of the day. Freshman Tim Wilson landed in second and junior Wulf Sutcliffe finished third.
The women’s weight throw was highlighted by Young and Aliotta once again as they finished back-to-back in first and second place respectively. Junior teammate Taylor Johnson placed in third for the event.
The track events saw MU’s finest in competition as sophomore Eric Kahana won the 60 meter dash with a time of 6.93 seconds earning him an IC4A qualification. For the women, graduate student Lachelle Wallace finished in second with a time of 7.82 seconds.
The 300 meter dash also saw the blue and white in first place. Senior Laura Williams won the overall event with a time of 41.02 seconds while junior Kate Frye, freshman Antoinette Isekenegbe and freshman Noel Labb rounded out the top four for the women.
Junior Ben Boyd finished in second place for the Hawks in the men’s 300 meter dash. Boyd lost first place to an unattached competitor.
The 600 meter run was seized by MU on the men’s side as freshman Dylan Capwell won the event with a time of 1:21.43. Freshman Tionna Garner was the women’s top 600 meter run competitor and in her very first event as a Hawk, Garner took fourth place.
Senior Marissa Felicetti took second in the women’s 3,000 meter run crossing the line at 11:06.96 while junior Alex Hershman placed third in the same event for the men finishing at 9:22.94.
MU’s women took second through fourth in the 60 meter hurdles with Frye as MU’s top finisher. Senior Jalen Walker placed first overall in the event for the men with a time of 8.21 seconds. Sophomore teammate Geordan Ferguson followed just .03 seconds behind.
The relays saw the women set a new MAC facility record as the 4×400 team of Williams, Frye, freshman Andrea Olsen and freshman McKenna Coakley completed the event at 3:56.89. The men’s team won the event also as Boyd, Kahana, Ferguson and sophomore John Malespina finished at 3:23.10.
