The men’s and women’s track and field team competed on Friday at the UAlbany Winter Classic held in Staten Island, New York. Four throws representing Monmouth were also sent to New York City on Thursday for the 113th Millrose Games at the Armory.
The highlight of Friday’s meet was when fifth year senior Kyle Mueller broke the school record in the 3000-meter with a time of 8:12.79, winning the race by eight seconds. This was the second indoor record Mueller broke this season. The performance earned him Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Performer of the Week honors. Mueller also qualified for IC4As/ECACs in the 3000-meters, 5000-meters, and the mile.
Senior Mariah Hubbard won the long jump with a winning distance of 5.72 meters which won by a mere .02 meters
While these were the only two Hawks to take first place finishes on Friday, there were still many impressive performances for Monmouth. Freshman Sammi Ragenklint ran a time of 10:00:09 in the 3000-meter which was good enough for third place. Sophomore Louis DiLaurenzio finished fifth in the 800-meter with a time of 1:53.00.
In the women’s pole vault, sophomore Lauren Saifi took home second place with a jump of 3.50m. In the men’s competition of the event, sophomore Randy Showmaker also took home third place jumping a height of 4.65m. Sophomore D.J. Jackson earned second in the long jump with a distance of 7.24m
In the men’s shotput, the Hawks received spots two through five. Fifth year senior Andrew Tumino was the second-place finisher on Friday with a toss of 16.31m. He was followed by senior Daniel Gilligan who threw the shot a distance of 16.11m. Finishing fourth was senior Brandon Davis who had a throw of 16.07m and junior Montel Johnsonfinished fifth with a throw of 15.55m.
“Mixed bag of results today for both teams. We had some stellar performances and some learning experiences,’ said Head Coach Montel Johnson. “Kyle Mueller’s performance in the 3k was definitely a highlight. He rolled to a new 3k indoor school record.”
The Hawks also had some impressive performances at the 113th Millrose Games. Junior Montel Johnson finished the meet with a best throw of 18.79 in the men’s weight throw. This was good enough to notch him third place. Senior Daniel Gilligan threw a distance of 17.77 meters in the same event which was good enough for seventh place.
In the women’s weight throw, Chibuzo Amonu also secured a second place finish with a toss of 17.75m. Sophomore Alexis Uzuro notched herself a fourth-place finish with a throw of 16.06m.
“As a team, we have some things to work on this week as we continue our march towards the championship portion of our season,” said Nelson. “Our next meet is our home meet. We’ll look to sharpen up as the MAAC Championship will be coming up next.”
The Hawks will be returning to action on Friday going into Saturday as they will be hosting the Monmouth Winter Collegiate Invitational at the Ocean First Bank Center. The meet will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and then again at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. This will be Monmouth’s last team meet before the MAAC Championships.
“I kept telling my guys to grab a hold of this game and eventually we made a couple plays in a row and were able to get the win on our home floor,” said Rice.
Following Tuesday night’s matchup at Fairfield, Monmouth will return home Sunday to redeem themselves and continue their unbeaten home record against Saint Peter’s with tip-off slated for 2:00 p.m.
PHOTO COURTESY of Lilybelle Morris
