The Monmouth University men’s and women’s track & field teams competed at the Dr. Sander Invitational, hosted by Columbia University as well as the Boston Terrier Classic, hosted by Boston University this past weekend [Jan. 24 & 25].
The teams had multiple outstanding performances, most notable being fifth year Kyle Mueller breaking his own school record for the 5000-meter race at the Boston Terrier Classic. Coming in fourth with a time of 14:09.47, he surpassed his previous mark by 15 seconds. Mueller’s previous record was a time of 14:24.37 which he achieved at the 2019 ICA4 indoor championships.
Coming off of a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Track & Field Performer of the Week, senior Khalid Slocum continued to bring the heat at the Dr. Sander Invitational. Slocum finished second overall in the long jump event with a mark of 7.42m, right behind Jason Schrage of UCLA (7.51m). Sophomore teammate Dorian (DJ) Jackson also placed in the men’s long jump with a mark of 7.21m, awarding him seventh place.
“As a team, this was a good meet for us to use as a measuring stick as we pursue another MAAC Championship. Overall, we had several good performances and posted some great times and distances,” said Slocum. “Being named MAAC Performer of the Week [Week of Jan. 20] was icing on the cake for our program.”
In the men’s weight throwing event, Monmouth had three members place in the top 20: fifth year Andrew Tummino (15.74m) placing 11th, senior Daniel Gilligan (15.45m) coming in at 13th, and senior Brandon Davis (15.15m) at 15th.
As for the women who competed at the Invitational, junior Chibuzo Amonu finished ninth in the weight throwing event with a throw measuring 17.19m and senior Jordan Wildermuth came in 12th place in the shot-put event with a throw of 13.21m. In the triple jump event, senior Mariah Hubbard placed 15th with a distance of 11.50m.
At the Boston Terrier Classic, there were other noteworthy achievements alongside Mueller breaking his own school record. Freshman Ian Moore finished first among collegiate runners and third overall in the 1000-meter race with a time of 2:26.29. Another freshman teammate, Mike Cannon Jr. finished the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.10, landing him in third place behind Justin Yazdi from Yale University (7.09) and Elizah Gordon of St. Thomas Aquinas College (7.08). For the field portion of the Classic, junior Andrew Huisman finished fourth with a throw of 15.39m.
“It was another successful weekend for the Hawks track & field program,” said Monmouth Head Coach Mike Nelson. “We had a split squad with most athletes competing at the Boston University Terrier Classic and a smaller group at the Dr. Sanders Columbia Challenge. Overall, I think we made some progress this weekend. We had a school record, a freshman record and multiple top ten all-time performances. I’ve always considered the month of January to be somewhat like the pre-season and then things really heat up in February. We’re moving in the right direction and we know the things we need to work on to be at our best. We’re looking forward to staying close to home over the next several weekends.”
The momentum will be continuing next weekend on Feb. 1 as the blue and white travel to Staten Island, New York to compete in the Villanova Invitational with the event set to begin at 4:00 p.m
PHOTO COURTESY of Monmouth Athletics
