PRINCETON, N.J.- Fresh off of their first and second place finishes at last week's Northeast Conference Championships, Monmouth University's men's and women's track team had another record setting weekend, this time at the Princeton Invitational.
Senior Ashley Huffman (South Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) finished first in the long jump with a leap of 19'11 ?”, breaking her own school record by one centimeter. Her leap also qualifies the senior for the U.S. Indoor Championships next weekend.
"We are very pleased to have two of our women's team members among the nation's elite and headed to the U.S. Champions to compete against former and future Olympians," said head coach Joe Compagni. "It is a great honor for Monmouth."
MU senior Tisifenee Taylor competed unattached in the same event, with her second place jump of 19'8 ?” also qualifying her for next weekend's event. Earlier this year, Taylor jumped 6.10 meters (20' 0.25”) to qualify for the U.S. Indoor Championships. She is currently ranked 6th in the nation with that jump, and Ashley's jump will tie her for 7th best in the nation.
Huffman and Taylor are the first Monmouth women's athletes to ever qualify for the U.S. Indoor Championships. The U.S. Indoor Championships will be held on Feb. 24-25 at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston. The event will be televised on ESPN2 and the full schedule events is at www.usatf.org.
Huffman took first in the 60m hurdles, finishing in 8.90 seconds. MU's Emily Rothenberger (Lilitz, Pa./Warwick) finished fifth in the weight throw with a distance of 43' 1 ?”. Taylor also finished second in the 60m dash with a time of 7.85 seconds.
On the men's side former Monmouth athlete Jon Kalnas took first place in the shot put with a toss of 60' 8”. Nick Williams (Adamstown, Md./Urbana) took second in the event and was the first collegiate overall with a throw of 55' 10 ?”. Sophomore Marcus Lewis (Nanuet, N.Y./Nanuet) was second in the 60m, crossing the finish line in 7.19.
Huffman also qualified for the U.S. Combined Events Championships, which are scheduled for March 4 at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She is one of the top 20 pentathletes in the nation and is also 17th among NCAA Division I athletes with her score of 3,856 points from earlier this season. The pentathlon is a one-day, five-event competition that includes the long jump, high jump, shot put, 55 hurdles and the 800 meters.
