Monmouth’s track and field teams kept their momentum rolling as fourteen names were added to the school’s all-time top ten list after this weekend’s Rutgers Open at the Armory in New York City.
All fourteen incredible performances came in running events with highlights from Louis DiLaurenzio winning two races, the men’s 800m and mile, where he added the third and fourth wins to his impressive season thus far. His time of 4:06.58 in the mile is the third-fastest time in Monmouth University history, followed by Stone Caraccio (4:11.06) and Tennesee Tremain (4:11:36) in the eighth and ninth spots.
DiLaurenzio continued to assert his dominance as he took home the win in the 800m with a time of 1:51.41.
On the women’s side, McKenzie Delahanty secured the win in the women’s mile, clocking a blazing time of 9:42.69, which is now the second-best time ever for a Hawk in the event. Marisa Kilgarriff (9:47.09, fourth) and Isabella Leak (9:50.45, fifth) will also be joining their teammate on Monmouth University’s top-ten list.
Three Hawks left their marks during the men’s 5000m, with Declan McDonnell (14:32.17), Cameron Janovic (14:38.64), and Ryan Tarapchak (14:49.73) etching their names into the school’s history books.
During the Friday event, McDonnell placed second and now ranks fourth in Monmouth history. Janovic and Tarapchak sit at seventh and eighth as they knocked down the school’s previous top-ten marks.
Grace Mary Kearns, Chantel Osley, and Kevin Collura will all be joining the top-ten list for their impressive efforts in the 600m. Kearns (1:34.77) ranks third and Osley (1:38.64) ranks tenth on the women’s list, while Collura (1:22.02) now sits in fourth for the men’s side.
Ashley Navarro had another strong weekend as she took fourth place in the women’s 800m, producing the second-fastest time in Monmouth history at 2:07.44. Ian Moore’s strong efforts in the men’s 1000m was enough to secure him third place with a time of 2:24.86 – the seventh-best mark ever recorded by a Hawk in the event.
Head Coach Mike Nelson had only positive remarks to make as his team gears up for the CAA Championships that will be held later in the month. “Another successful weekend of Monmouth Hawk Track and Field,” Nelson exclaimed. “It’s always fun competing at the historic NYC Armory.”
“I’m glad we had the opportunity to compete in a two-day meet. This was an excellent dress rehearsal for the championship portion of our season. With the CAA Championships being a two-day meet, it’s important to understand how to bring the physical and emotional energy on both days of competition,” he continued. “We had many new Top Ten performances including two number two all-time performances. Overall, a very productive weekend!”
Up next, Monmouth University’s track and field teams will continue their season as they compete in two meets next weekend. The Hawks will bring a squad to the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex for the Fastrack National Invitational on Friday, Feb. 10 and will also send another selection of athletes to the Valentine Invitational for a two-day meet hosted by Boston University.
