UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Four team records and three ECAC/IC4A qualifying finishes highlight the Monmouth University men's and women's track & field teams' efforts at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup and Giegengack Invitational. On Saturday afternoon, the final day of competition at the Penn State and Yale hosted events, the Hawks posted several impressive finishes against a handful of the nation's top teams, including Penn State (14th-ranked men, eighth-ranked women) and Auburn (20th-ranked men, 17th-ranked women).
"We ran up against great teams this weekend and it was a valuable experience for our squads," said Hawks Head Coach Joe Compagni. "We had some excellent performances against some of the country's best."
Competing at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup, the Blue and White's women's throwing crew placed four of their own in the top-ten in the shot put. Freshman Sandra Jean-Romain (Old Bridge, N.J./Old Bridge) punched her ticket to the ECAC Championships, after falling just inches short the last few meets, by producing a fourth place finishing throw of 44' 4" - good enough to put her into the MU records books for fifth all-time. Teammates Symmone Fisher (Coram, N.Y./Longwood), Jessica Toritto (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown) and Kelly Dantley (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) picked up valuable points in the event as well finishing seventh (41' 9.75"), eighth (40' 4.75") and ninth (39' 4"), respectively.
Junior Tom Ciccoli (King of Prussia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) led the men's team in shot put posting a throw of 53' 11.25" to earn an eighth place finish. In high jump, junior mult-eventer Mary Wilks (Bridgeton, N.J./Bridgeton) had a solid showing, clearing the 5' 5" standard to finish ninth overall in the event.
Senior Cailin Lynam (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) posted the women's team's first sub five minute mile of the season (4:58.87) finishing sixth overall in the event while earning a trip to the ECAC Championships and posting the second-best mile time in school history. Fellow classmate Brittany Gibbs (Matawan, N.J./Old Bridge) reached past the 39' mark in the triple jump for the first time in her career, as her leap of 39' 1" not only broke MU's school record, but earned her a fifth place finish overall. Following the record breaking trend, senior Michelle Losey (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) posted scorching hot times in the 200 meter run (24.61) and the 400 meter run (55.64) as she finished eighth and sixth in the events. With only Penn State and Auburn competitors posting better times on the afternoon, the Hawks' standout sprinter again broke school records in both events.
Picking up where he left off yesterday after his record breaking performance in the 60 meter hurdles, sophomore Chris Rutherford (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) posted another solid finish for the Blue and White, as his eighth place finish in the 400 meter run - with a time of 49.32 - qualified him for the IC4A's.
Other top finishes for MU included: freshman Ford Palmer (Smithville, N.J./Absegami) finishing seventh (1:53.51) in the 800 meter run, senior Chris Taiwo (Budd Lake, N.J./Mt. Olive) and sophomore Geoff Navarro (Mays Landing, N.J./Absegami) going five (22.07) seven (22.26) in the 200 meter run and both men's and women's 4x400 meter relays posting solid finishes (men - sixth in 3:22.52 and women - third in 3:59.74).
The men's team finished 11th overall while the women's team placed 12th at the ultra competitive Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup.
At the Giegengack Inviational, senior Victor Rizzotto (Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional) finished eighth in shot put and freshman Josh Mann (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) posted a fifth place finish in triple jump (44' 5.25") to lead the men's crew on te last day of competition. On the women's side, junior Ashley Cuvilly (Uniondale, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) and senior Jenn Tarsan (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) finished sixth and eighth in the triple jump (35' 9.25" and 34' 11.25"), respectively.
In the 3000 meter run, junior distance runner Ben Hutterer (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) finished in 16th place with a time of 8:39.45 to move into second place in the conference in that event.
The Hawks teams will return to action next weekend when they travel back to New York City, N.Y. to compete at the Lafayette/Rider Winter Games held at the world famous Armory in the Bronx. Action in the one day meet will kick off at 2:00 p.m.
