WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ - Monmouth University's outdoor track and field teams were victorious early and often during the 21st Annual Monmouth Season Opener, as the men's team placed first with 282 total points and the women's team with 287 points. The men are undefeated at home since 1996 and the women have not lost since 2001 in West Long Branch.
“Both teams did a nice job for an early season meet,” said Monmouth head coach Joe Compagni. “We have a lot of work to do but today was a positive start. We appreciate all of the teams, students, faculty, alums, and families that came out to see us and help us in our one home meet of the spring.”
Monmouth's men's team opened up the meet with a strong Friday field showing, beginning with a hammer throw win by Tim Wilson (Washingtonville, NY/Washingtonville). Wilson was followed by second and third place finishers Troy Andretta (Kinnelon, NJ/Kinnelon) and Tevin Kirby-Stewart (Horsham, PA/Hatboro Horsham).
Monmouth trotted out the top four finishers in the men's long jump with Joey Marini (Lincoln Park, NJ/Boonton), Liam Vogt (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph by the Sea), Michael Pepper (Ramsey, NJ/Ramsey), and Darius Howe (Baltimore, MD/Western Tech). Vogt (first), Pepper (third), and Howe (fourth) also finished in the top four of the men's triple jump, with Bryan Sosoo (Laurel, MD/Reservoir) sliding in at second. Marini added another win in the high jump (2.00m). Dean McDonald (Fairfield, NJ/West Essex) tabbed a fourth place finish in the men's pole vault after clearing 4.26 meters. Corey Murphy (Yaphank, NY/Longwood) took home first place in both men's shot put with a 17.20 meter throw and the discus with a 47.42 meter throw.
Senior Geordan Ferguson (Lakehurst, NJ/Manchester Township) finished first in both the men's 400-meter hurdles (53.97) and the men's 110-meter hurdles (14.97). Stephen Adkisson (Mays Landing, NJ/Oakcrest) was just behind Ferguson in the hurdle, finishing fourth.
Dylan Capwell (Hoptacong, NJ/Hoptacong) ran his way to a third place finish in the men's 1500 meter, crossing the finish line in 3:59.31 which was less than a second away from the win. Sophomore Jake Howell (Neshanic Station, NJ/Somerville) led all Monmouth athletes and finished fifth overall as a men's 5000m competitor.
In just 41.63 seconds, the men's 4x100 relay team of Sosoo, Eric Kahana (Freehold, NJ/Freehold), Devon Lewis (Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley), and reigning MAAC Track Performer of the Week Ahmier Dupree (Lakewood, NJ/Lakewood) notched another first place finish and IC4A qualifier for the Hawks. Dupree continued his fast start to the outdoor season with two more wins; one in the 100-meter dash (11.02) as Lewis finished right behind him in third (11.36), and the other in the 200-meter dash (22.26). Malcolm Chavis (Landing, NJ/Roxbury) finished second in the 200-meter dash, with Lewis not far behind in fourth.
Monmouth had two top-three finishers in the 400-meter dash in Chavis, who ended second, and Greg Stickle (Randolph, NJ/Randolph), who ended third. Junior Kevin Summonte (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) was one of two Hawks to enter the men's 800-meter run and placed fifth (1:58.03) in a field of 30.
Two Monmouth teams secured the top two spots in the men's 4x800m relay. Jack Grace, Frank Conforti, Matt Natoli, and Kevin Mazzella took first while Graham Huggins-Filozof, Kevin French, Kevin Summonte, and Matt Farrell were right behind them to nab second place. In the last event of the season opener, the quartet of Stickle, Chavis, John Malespina, and Capwell placed first and notched another IC4A qualifying time in the men's 4x400m relay.
The women's team racked up top finishes throughout the weekend, starting with the hammer throw on Friday afternoon. The trio of Alicia Hester (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley), Kennisha Okereke (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown), and Aziza Ahmed (Princeton, NJ/Hightstown) finished at the top of the leaderboard to start the opener for Monmouth.
On Saturday morning, Monmouth started off strong in the women's long jump, as Domoah Kutu-Akoi (Silver Spring, MD/John F. Kennedy) placed third with a distance of 5.03 meters and teammate Patrice Baston (Bay Shore, NY/Bay Shore) was right behind her in fourth after a jump of 4.85 meters.
In the women's high jump, freshman Chloe Angelini (Pompano Beach, FL/St. Thomas Aquinas) placed fourth with a 1.55 meter final. As the lone women's pole vaulter of the day, Megan Gambuti (Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo) finished third after clearing 2.89 meters.
The Hawks had five of the top seven finishers in the women's shot put, including a second place finish for Hester and a fourth place finish for Onnie Coles (Glassboro, NJ/Delsea Regional). Monmouth notched the top three finishers in both the javelin throw and discus throw. Faith Blamon (41.35m), Kristin Krier (40.43m), and Stephanie Roones (40.36m) led the pack in the javelin before Ahmed (43.02m), Jade Cunningham (40.97m), and Rachel Hatcher (32.76) ended as the top three in the discus.
In the track portion of meet, the women once again paced the field. In the longest event, Emily Beyer (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) finished sixth after 41:17.79 in the 10,000 meter race. Andrea Olsen (Estell Manor, NJ/Buena Regional) and Nia Driver (Lawrenceville, NJ/Lawrence) finished third and fourth for the Blue & White during the 400 meter hurdles. The quartet of Ashley McKinnon (East Orange, NJ/Essex County Vocational), Dana Lynch (Hackensack, NJ/Hackensack), Olsen, and Kutu-Akoi won the women's 4x100 meter relay with a time of 49.23 seconds, giving Monmouth its first ECAC qualifying time of the year. In the next event, Lynch placed second in the 100-meter hurdles after finishing in 15.83 seconds and teammate Janelle Gibbs (Newark, NJ/Union Catholic) finished right behind her in third (15.96).
First place runner Lindsey Bellaran (Farmingdale, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) and runner up Jenna Cupp (Newark Valley, NY/Newark Valley) gave the Hawks two more top finishers in the 3,000 meter run, followed by a second place finish by Tionna Garner (Trenton, NJ/Trenton Catholic Academy) in the 400-meter dash. Antoinette Isekenegbe (Vineland, NJ/Vineland) and Allie Wilson (Wallingford, PA/Strath Haven) weren't far behind Garner, picking up fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Kutu-Akoi capped off her impressive day with a win in the women's 100-meter dash, ending in 12.91 seconds, and a second place finish in the 200-meter dash, crossing in 26.51. Monmouth picked up another win after a 2:13.44 second finish from Kendal Hand (Howell, NJ/Howell) in the women's 800-meter run, immediately followed by second-place teammate Chandi Piiru (East Orange, NJ/Union Catholic).
In the final events of the evening, two more relay teams took first place honors. In the women's 4x800, Sydney Engelberger, Maggie Hanlon, Molly McKeon, and Rachael Baker raced to a 10:02.33 mark. In the 4x400, the team of Isekenegbe, Piiru, Nia Driver, and Garner took first (3:59.46) and Amber Stratz, Brianna Stratz, Sarah Wiley, and Allie Wilson took second (4:04.61).
The Hawks return to action next weekend at the William & Mary Colonial Relays (Thursday-Saturday) and the High Point University VertKlasse Meeting (Friday-Saturday).
