TF 01.30.19
Sports

Track and Field Excels in Record-Breaking Weekend

It was a record-breaking weekend for Track and Field as the women’s distance medley relay (DMR) team achieved a school-best time at the New York Armory and senior Kyle Mueller broke the 5000-meter record at Penn State.

The Hawks participated in three different events this past weekend: the Dr. Norbert Sander/Columbia Collegiate Challenge, the Penn State National Open, and the Cornell Kane Invitational. It was a split team weekend as Track and Field sent a different group of athletes to each event to compete.

At the Dr. Norbert Sander/Columbia Collegiate Challenge in New York, NY, it was the Monmouth women who stole the show with a second placed finish in the DMR after putting a time of 11:15.64 on the board, which topped the program’s all-time record in the event. The team consisted of senior Brianna Stratz, junior Nioami Miranda, senior Chandi Piiru, and graduate student Allie Wilson. The final time was a full ten seconds faster than the school’s previous best and became the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) second-fastest time in the event.

“The women’s DMR was a tremendous start to the weekend for us,” said Head Coach Joe Compagni. “We had some very good results at all three meets, and we’re looking forward to getting back to work and improving in all areas in the weeks ahead.”

Two members of the women’s DMR team also had big weekends individually as Wilson came close to topping her record-breaking 800-meter dash from a week ago by winning her event with a time of 2:06.58 and Stratz placed 7th in the event with a 2:09.84.

At the Penn State National Open, senior Corey Murphy won the shot put with a season-high 62’10.75 that won the competition by over five feet.

Mueller broke the school record in the 5000-meter run with a 14:25.35 run that topped the former high of Nick Pellegrino set in 2004.

Senior Darius Howe also performed well in Pennsylvania with an impressive 48’7.5 triple jump which was good enough for a third-placed finish. 

Other top Hawk performers included juniors Ryan Rafferty and Mariah Hubbard, who finished sixth and fifth in their competitions, respectively.

It was the freshmen who closed out the day with Sarah Crissman and Amber Stratz finishing fourth and fifth in the 1000-meter with times of 2:53.73 and 2:54.13.

The last event of the weekend was the Cornell Kane Invitational in Ithaca, NY, which was highlighted by junior Brandon Davis who was victorious in weight throwing with a final of 52’6.75.

There were also a variety of top-five finishes across the board in Ithaca with freshmen Masfort Boima and Chris Maiurro each placing fourth in 60-meter hurdles and dash, respectively. Freshman Randy Showmaker also found the leaderboard with a third-place finish in pole vault thanks to a clearance of 14’3.25, while freshman James Hoffman placed third in the 1000-meter run with a time of 2:35.9.

The women’s 4×800 relay capped off a solid day as sophomores Michele Daniels and Natalie Tavares teamed up with freshmen Nancy McGrath and Keellyn Cummings to win the race with a time of 10:00.75.

Next week will be another split squad meet for the Hawks with one group traveling to Boston, MA on Friday to compete in the Crimson Elite Meet at Harvard and then Boston University for the Scarlet & White Invitational on Saturday.

The other Monmouth grouping will head to the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island, NY to battle in the Villanova Invitational on Saturday.

PHOTO COURTESY of Monmouth Athletics