BOSTON/LEWISBURG, Pa.- With half the squad at the Boston University Terrier Classic and the other half competing at Bucknell, Monmouth University's men's and women's track squads finished up the second day of competition at both meets with a number of solid performances.
For the second week in a row, the Monmouth throwers dominated their competition, with the Hawks taking five of the top seven spots in the shot put. Nick Williams (Adamstown, Md./Urbana) took second in the competition (52' ?”), with Kyle Hirschklau's (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) throw of 51'2 ?” finishing third, Chris Keller taking fifth with a throw of 50' 2 ?”, Larry Lundy (Friendsville, Pa./Montrose Area) taking sixth (49' 11 ?”) and Ed Skowronski (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan) coming in seventh (49'10”).
The results of the weight throw were similar, with Keller's throw of 57'11 ?” taking second, while Skowronski finished third (56'3 ?”). Lundy finished fourth (53'8 ?”), with Ryan Connell (Nutley, N.J./St. Peter's Prep) taking eighth (52'5 ?”).
In the 800m, MU junior David Gaines (Freehold, N.J./Colts Neck) qualified for the IC4As finishing with a time of 1:52.59, which was fifth overall. The 4x400 relay team of Chris Vuono (Wall, N.J./CBA), Gaines, Darrin Chandler (Hackensack, N.J./Paramus Catholic) and Kevin Gilroy (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) also qualified for the IC4A's, finishing with a time of 3:18.60.
Senior Fabrice St. Elme (Rahway, N.J./Rahway) finished second in the 55m dash, crossing the finish line in 6.36. In the 500m, Monmouth's Derrik Keich (Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua Area) came in eighth place 1:06.90.
The distance medley was the only women's event held on Saturday, with the Hawk's top squad of Malia Lyles (Collingswood, N.J./Cherokee), Latasha Dickson (Aberdeen, N.J./Matawan), Asha Arneth (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) and Jessica Jones (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Dallas) were fifth, posting a 12:40.30 time. The all-freshman team of Laura Embrey (West Long Branch, N.J./Shore Regional)), Brittany Gibbs (Matawan, N.J./Old Bridge High School), Sarah Frenette (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) and Cailin Lynam (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) set a new rookie record, coming in sixth place with a mark of 12:45.52. The Hawks final 4x400 team finished in eighth place in 13:04.
At Bucknell, MU junior Nikki Zwartjes (Burlington, N.J./Burlington) took first in the pole vault, tying her own school record with a height of 11'3 ?”. Rachel Cassata (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Somers High School) set a freshman record with a vault of 10'10” for third place.
Latasha Leake (Wrightstown, N.J./North Burlington) and Shannon Rogers (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) tied for second in the high jump, clearing 5'1”. Jude Rene (Hamilton, N.J./Hamilton North) took sixth in the heptathlon, scoring 4,260 points. Rene's performance breaks his own school record, set back in December at Harvard. Alex Bowers (Bayville, N.J./Central Regional) finished eighth in the triple jump as MU's Marcus Lewis (Nanuet, N.Y./Nanuet) took seventh in the 60m dash with a time of 7.17.
On the first day of the competition, MU senior Ashley Huffman (South Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) set a new Monmouth record in the pentathlon, with her winning score of 3,856 points qualifying her for an NCAA provisional spot. Huffman is now ranked third in the nation in the event.
The Hawks are back in action next weekend when they compete in the New Balance Collegiate Invite.
