WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.- Monmouth University's men's track and field team competed at three separate invitationals on Saturday, including one at UNC-Charlotte, the University of Maryland and Wagner College.
At Charlotte, MU's throwers stepped up once again, with Marion Easley (Somerville, N.J./Somerville) and Nick Williams (Adamstown, Md./Urbana) taking first and second in the javelin. Easley smashed the competition with a throw of 204'11” with Williams' throw of 178'04” coming in as the next best toss. Ed Skowronski's (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan) throw of 201'02” won the hammer and teammate Kyle Hirschklau (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) took fifth with a distance of 149'0”. Skowronski and Williams finished two-three in the discus, with throws of 141'07” and 139'06”, respectively. The Blue & White finished off the throwing events strong, with Williams, Hirschklau and Skowronski finishing in third, fourth and fifth place. The trio earned marks of 54'4”, 51' 2 ?” and 48'11 ?” in the event.
In the track events, senior Martin Suarez III (Burlington, N.J./Holy Cross) took home a third place finish in the 3000m run, finishing with a time of 8:48.95. Junior Jude Rene (Hamilton, N.J./Hamilton North) took home a fifth place finish in the 110m hurdles, crossing the line in 15.31. Fabrice St. Elme (Rahway, N.J./Rahway) was sixth in the 100m, finishing in 10.89, while David Gaines' (Freehold, N.J./Colt's Neck) time of 1:53.24 in the 800m was also fifth. The meet featured Charlotte, Davidson, North Carolina A&T, James Madison, High Point and N.C. State among others.
The throwing squad at Maryland also had a fine outing, with Ryan Connell (Nutley, N.J./St. Peter's Prep) taking first in the hammer with a throw of 168'11”. Larry Lundy (Friendsville, Pa./Montrose) was second in the event with a toss of 165'09” and finished second in the discus with a throw of 149'05”. Shawn Sabo (Oakland, N.J./Indian Hills) and Gerald Lewis (Vineland, N.J./Vineland) also placed in the discus with a fourth and fifth place finish (144'10” & 144'8”). Lundy rounded out his day with a sixth place showing in the shot put with a distance of 49'3 ?”.
Monmouth's 4x100 relay team of Jerome St. Bernard (Markham, Ontario/Michael McGivney), Dave Martell (Gibbsboro, N.J./Eastern Regional), Chris Taiwo (Budd Lake, N.J./Mt. Olive) and Darrin Chandler (Hackensack, N.J./Paramus Catholic) took fifth place with a time of 43.08. Matt Caporaso's (Matawan, N.J./Old Bride) time of 9:51.58 earned him seventh in the steeple chase while Craig Segal (Holmdel, N.J./Holmdel) finished eighth in the 1500m with a time of 4:00.24.
Former MU All-American Bobby Smith won the javelin, with current Hawks Bryan Fill, Tim Raywood and Matt Mizerek taking third, fourth and seventh, respectively.
The Hawks sent a small group to Wagner, with some of the athletes competing unattached.
The full team is set to compete next weekend at the Sam Howell Invitational, hosted on the campus of Princeton University.
