Track impressive again at Armory

Kate McAvey

 It was another successful road trip for the running Wildcats as the men’s and women’s track teams dominated once again at the Armory in New York City, this time at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational.  

In the 3,000-meter run, junior Hugo Beamish ran an impressive 8:06.56, placing second, while freshman Mathew Mildenhall came in third, crossing the finish line at 8:07.96.  

Senior Cody Harper earned another Big East qualifying time by placing second in his section of the 800-meter run crossing the finish line at 1:51.11.

The 4×400-meter relay consisted of freshmen Carlton Bowers and Andrew Burt, junior Stefan Goodridge and freshman Nicoy Hines. The team won the Pennsylvania section of the event with a time of 3:14.75

In the 500-meter, Dan Lewis crossed the line in fifth with a time of 14:24.24, and junior Brian Long placed eighth with a time of 14:28.41. Matthew Kane took 11th place with a time of 14:43.47.

In the 400-meter dash, Bowers ran a 49.35, senior Garrett Kroner ran a 49.37 and Hines ran a 49.47, advancing all of them to the conference championship.

The women were just as successful at the Armory. Senior Nicole Schappert won the mile and ran an NCAA automatic qualifying time, crossing the finish line at the 4:35.97 mark.

Junior Alison Smith finished the mile in 4:49.42, earning fifth and a Big East qualifying time.

The women’s distance medley relay, consisting of Schappert, junior Kristen Mahon, freshman Ariann Neutts and junior Sheila Reid finished the race with an NCAA automatic qualifying time. The team finished with a time of 11:02.83, just barely beating the Tennessee team.

The 4×400 team consisted of sophomores Christie Verdier,  Ashley Dunbar, Mahon, and senior Makalia Griffith. The team earned first in the race with a combined time of 3:44.89.

In the 200-meter dash, sophomore Shericka Ward also earned a Big East qualifying time, crossing the finish line with a time of 24.49 seconds. Ward also dominated in the hurdles, finishing fifth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.33.

In the 1,000-meter run, Smith ran a 2:50.6, placing third and earning her a Big East qualifying mark. Junior Ashlyn Llerandi won the pole vault open event for the team. 

The track teams will travel to New York City on Feb. 20 for the Big East Championship.