PRINCETON, N.J. - With half of the Monmouth University men's and women's track & field teams competing Friday night, the other half of the squad visted in-state rival Princeton on Saturday for the Princeton Relays. The bulk of the Hawks jumps and throwing crews posted solid efforts, including dual medalist wins in triple jump, in yesterday evening's competitive event in central New Jersey.
"We had some strong marks in both the throws and jumps tonight but we know we still have several areas where we need to continue to improve on," said Head Coach Joe Compagni.
Finishing fifth and seventh overall in long jump was sophomore Marcus Goode (Freehold, N.J./Freehold Township) and senior Kollan Reevey (Pemberton, N.J./Pemberton) who finished with leaps of 6.96 meters and 6.69 meters, respectively. Sophomore Colleen Rutecki (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) had her best career finish in long jump as she finished seventh overall with a jump of 5.18 meters and senior Mary Kate Walsh (Woodbury, N.J./Woodbury) ended the evening ninth (5.13 meters).
Walsh also added a first place win in triple jump as her 11.48 meter jump lead everyone in the event. Junior Ashley Cuvilly (Uniondale, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) finished fifth overall for MU with a mark of 10.72 meters. Rookie Josh Mann (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) earned the lone medalist win for the men's jumps crew at the Princeton Relays as his leap of 13.64 meters in triple jump paced the field. Goode finished sixth with a mark of 12.78 meters.
In men's shot put, the Hawks' signature event, three of the Blue and White finished in third through fifth, as juniors Vincent Elardo (Forked River, N.J./Lacey) and Tom Ciccoli (King of Prussia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) and senior Shawn Sabo (Oakland, N.J./Indian Hills) had solid performances. Elardo finished with a throw of 16.44 meters, Ciccoli threw for 16.36 meters, and Sabo finished the evening with a 15.78 meter mark. The same trio finished high in the weight throw as Elardo (16.87 meters) earned a second place finish, Sabo (15.56 meters) earned a fifth place finish, and Ciccoli (15.36 meters) ended the meet in seventh overall.
On the women's side, freshman Sandra Jean-Romain (Old Bridge, N.J./Old Bridge) continued her early career success as she finished fourth overall in shot put with a throw of 13.07 meters. Sophomore Symmone Fisher (Coram, N.Y./Longwood) ended in eighth overall with a mark of 12.37 meters. In weight throw, senior Samantha Hegmann (Mineola, N.Y./Mineola) had her best performance of her fourth year as she finished seventh overall (14.79 meters). Fisher also added an eighth place finish with a throw of 14.01 meters.
In high jump, freshman Rich Bills (Matawan, N.J./St. Joseph) cleared the 1.91 meter mark to finish in fifth place overall for the Hawks. Finishing second for the women's team in high jump was newcomer Alison Day (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) who ended the meet clearing the 1.60 meter height. Teammates Jenn Tarsan (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) and Kelly Dantley (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) finished just behind Day in fourth and fifth overall as they cleared 1.60 meters but with more previous misses.
The Hawks visited host Princeton for the second time in less than two months and competed with teams including: Georgian Court, Kutztown, Manhattan, Marist, Rider, Rutgers, St. Joseph's, St. Peter's, Stony Brook, Temple and TCNJ.
The Hawks return to action this weekend when they travel to four separate meets to compete. On Friday, January 29th, MU will head to the Bison Open and Heptathlon/Pentathlon (4:00 p.m. start) and 101st Milrose Games (5:00 p.m. start). Then on Saturday, January 30th, the Blue and White will compete at the Thomson Invitational (9:30 a.m. start) and Terrier Classic (2:00 p.m. start).
