The Monmouth University men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams hosted the 20th Annual Monmouth Season Opener on Saturday, March 28. Several Hawks displayed good performances, as the men won the overall event and the women finished in second.
The men went 11-0 in dual meet scoring to extend their home win streak that started in 1996. The women finished 10-1 in the dual meet scoring, falling only to Bucknell.
“This was a great early season test where we had to deal with the elements as we always do outdoors,” said Head Coach Joe Compagni. “The times and marks will improve a lot in the weeks ahead, but in most places our team competed with the intensity that we need.”
Junior Geordan Ferguson won the 400 meter hurdles on the men’s side in 55.43 seconds. “This was a great opportunity being at home. Even with not so ideal weather conditions the team tried their best as a whole which shows a lot about us,” Ferguson said.
He then went one-two with senior teammate Jalen Walker in the 110 hurdles, as the pair finished in 14.59 and 14.81 seconds consecutively.
Senior captain Ben Boyd took first in the 400m in 48.70 seconds, with freshman teammate Malcolm Chavis in third. The top three finishers in the 100m were all Hawks, led by junior Ahmier Dupree running 10.85, freshman Bryan Sosoo in second at 10.91, and junior Eric Kahana at 10.94. Dupree and Kahana placed first and second again in the 200m, finishing in 21.88 and 22.16 seconds.
Sophomore Matt Nelson helped MU stay dominant in the meet as he took first place in the 10,000 meter run at 32:29.47. Junior Domenick D’Agostino won the 3,000 meter in 8:45.12. In the 1500 meter run, junior Graham Huggins-Filozof came in fourth with 4:02.27, while senior Khari Bowen placed seventh.
Freshman Ben Dillon and senior Tommy Darlington finished third and fourth in the steeple with times of 9:35.54 and 9:43.88, respectively. The MU men won the 4×800 and also took first in the 4×400.
Although the high jump moved inside due to weather conditions, this alteration did not fault senior Erik Anderson who came in first as he cleared 6’6.75”. Sophomore Bobby Fisher and junior Tyler Poland tied for fifth in the pole vault. Junior Liam Vogt claimed second in the long jump with 20’6.5”. Vogt was also sixth in the triple jump.
Senior captain Taylor Bernstein finished second in the discus at 157’, and junior Spencer Dimock took seventh. Sophomore Troy Andretta took second in the hammer with 177’9”. Senior Zach Torrell and freshman William Civatte went three and four in the javelin. Bernstein won the shot put with a mark of 55’7”, and junior Tevin Kirby-Stewart took second at 54’8.25”.
On the women’s side on Friday’s hammer throw, senior captain Taylor Johnson finished fourth with a throw of 158’8. Senior Melanie Lewis came in second in the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.16. In the women’s 400 hurdles, sophomore McKenna Coakley was second and sophomore Nia Driver finished third, running 1:04.79 and 1:05.05 respectively, while senior captain Kate Frye took sixth. Coakley also finished fourth in the high jump with a jump of 5’ 3”.
The MU women’s 4×100 relay took third, finishing in 49.51 seconds. Sophomore Antoinette Isekenegbe won the 400 meter dash in 57.91 seconds, winning the field of 42 participants. Freshman Domoah Kutu-Akoi won the women’s 100 meter dash with a time of 12.54 seconds. Kutu-Akoi also took third in the long jump with 16’6”.
Sophomore Maggie Hanlon took fifth in the 5000 meter with a time of 18:35.
In the 3000 meter run, sophomore Jenna Cupp came in second, followed by freshman teammates Danielle Leavitt in fourth and Allie Wilson in sixth. Cupp ran a time of 10:22.09. Sophomore Molly McKeon took sixth in the 800 at 2:20.91. Junior Amanda Fasano took sixth in the steeplechase, running 12:28.66. The women won the 4×800 with a time of 10:02.95, and the 4×400 running 3:57.49.
The top three competitors in the pole vault, which was moved inside due to weather conditions, were all Hawks. Senior captain Lauren McDonald finished first with 11’3.75”. Behind her was sophomore Casey Sturts in second and junior Brittany Papa in third. Senior Kim Price took third in the triple jump at 35’ 4.5”. Senior Kelsey Reese took first in the javelin with a throw of 139’4”.
“It was rough because of the weather but we still showed out,” Reese said. MU won the top two slots in the discus as Johnson won with a mark of 156’6” tying her mark from last meet.
Junior Aziza Ahmed was second with 137’10”. Johnson also took sixth in the shot put.
The Hawks will next compete at the Colonial Relays in Williamsburg, PA this upcoming weekend.
PHOTO COURTESY of Mel Lewis
