Army's Fink, bevy of PRs highlight Day One of IC4A/ECAC Outdoor T&F Championships
FAIRFAX, Va. – The opening day of the IC4A/ECAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships wrapped up on Saturday, with the Army men and the women of George Mason leading the way. The event is being hosted on the George Mason campus and runs through Sunday afternoon.
Army’s 75 points is just two ahead of the Navy men, with UMBC rounding out the top three at 57. For the women, the Patriots sit at 68.5 points as a team, followed by Richmond at 56 and Army at 48.
On the women’s side, Army’s Emily Fink dominated in the hammer, turning in a new meet and facility record behind a toss of 71.12m (233’ 4”), nearly 60 full feet ahead of second place. Fink’s mark puts her alone at the top of the now-updated Division I leaderboard.
The women’s shot put saw FDU’s Nilaja Wiltshire (15.77m/51’ 9”) take home the individual title, with Jordan Hecht (15.54m/51’) of Army and Marie Abongwa (PR 14.04m/46’ ¾”) rounding out the top three. UMass found its first champion of the weekend in pole vaulter Chloe Taylor, who won the event with a height of 4.12m (13’ 6 1/4”).
George Mason teammates Shania Staats (5.91m/19’ 4 ¾”) and Kailynn Tyson (5.86m/19’ 2 ¾”) taking first and third respectively in the women’s long jump, with Richmond’s Molly Wise (5.89m/19’ 4”) landing in second place. In the women’s javelin, Alexah Zaczynski, representing Army, came away with the individual title, doing so with a distance of 45.36m (148’ 10”).
Courtney Rowland (1.70m/5’ 7”) of UMass held on for the victory in the women’s high jump, narrowly besting Zoie Tesi (1.69m/5’ 6 ½”) of Navy and Abigail Weening of George Mason, who tied one another for second place.
On the track, a new PR time of 53.70 was enough for UMass’ Sadai Headley-Mawasi to take home the 400 title, followed by Navy’s Taylor Woodworth (54.29) and Richmond’s Ginny Beringer (54.83). Caroline Donohoe (2:09.75) of Richmond held on in the 800, snagging first place just ahead of a trio of runner’s from St. Joesph’s.
Richmond teammates Brooke Reif (4:25.41) and Hallie Muniz (4:29.32) both produced a new PR in the women’s 1500, but it wasn’t enough to slow down George Mason’s Ellie Desmond (4:24.70), who came away with the event win. Rachel St. Germain gave Quinnipiac a first-place finish in the women’s steeple, turning in a time of 10:51.64, more than seven seconds ahead of second place.
Fellow Bobcat Sierra Gray saw her time of 17:05.15 be good enough for the women’s 5K title, while Richmond’s Laurel Kertz (37:25.25) closed out Saturday’s women’s events with a 10K crown.
For the men, Arsalan Yaqubi of George Mason took home the men’s hammer title, doing so behind a season-best distance of 61.37m (201’ 4”). He was followed by the Army duo of Robby Manse (58.94m/193’ 4”) and Jake Nwosu (56.68m/185’ 11”), who rounded out the top three.
Manse later took first in the men’s shot put with a distance of 17.99m (59’ ¼”), with teammate Matt Palchak (16.99m/55’ 9”) coming in second place. The men’s javelin produced a strong field on Saturday, with Elijah Goodwin (66.69m/218’ 9”) of Army emerging as the champion and the 27th best mark in the region this spring.
The Midshipmen were well represented in the men’s pole vault, taking three of top five individual spots. Cooper Wakley (5.09m/16’ 8 ¼”) and Brian Schloeder (4.99m/16’ 4 ½”) turning in a 1-2 finish and Gavin Anderson (4.89m/16’ ½”) tying Walter Bannerman and Brody Myers, both of George Mason, for fourth place.
Navy teammates Wyatt Shaw (2.08m/6’ 9¾”) and Benjemen Schneider matched one another to split the men’s high jump title, with both clearing the mark on their first attempt. In the men’s long jump, Jaden Ferguson turned in a new PR en route to an individual crown behind a mark of 7.34m (24’ 1”).
Gadot Gaskins of UMass won the men’s 400 with a season-best time of 46.72, holding off UMBC’s Marquis Miller (46.93) in a photo finish. Fellow Retriever Tyler Edson (1:49.37) came up with a thrilling win of his own in the 400, with American’s Carver Morgan (1:49.40) finishing on his heels.
Kaden Kluth (3:42.07) of American picked up a big win in the 1500, with George Mason’s Alex DeRoussel (9:08.73) following by taking first in the men’s steeple.
George Mason teammates Wesley Bond (14:26.86) and Biruk Beardsley (14:39.56) collected first and third respectively in the men’s 5K, separated only by Navy’s Logan Flament (14:33.53). Army’s Isaac Morris closed out the first day of competition with a win in the men’s 10K, doing so behind a time of 31:09.26.
To view Saturday’s results and Sunday’s schedule in their entirety,
please click here.