Press Release written by Mitchell Coll
GLASSBORO, N.J. - - The Wilmington University Track & Field team battled another weekend of cold and windy conditions, this time at the Oscar Moore Invite hosted by Rowan University.
Angel Oliver and Jalah Turner started the day with the Women's Long Jump. Oliver finished with a best jump of 4.45 meters, which placed her sixth overall. Oliver is 32 centimeters away from the CACC qualifications standards. Turner jumped over four meters as well, with her best jump of 4.25 meters. Oliver and Turner also both cleared the bar at 1.29 meters in the high jump. Both are season-best for them and finished Oliver and Turner tied for seventh.
In the Men's Long Jump, Akeel Blake came ever so close to breaking the seven-meter mark. Blake's best jump on the day with 6.97 meters, which was good enough to take fourth place. Matthew Hibbert was also in the long jump and went 13th overall with a leap of 5.59 meters. Blake also finished second in the high jump, clearing 1.98 meters.
Shemar Parker qualifies for another event at the CACC Championships this May, making it a total of four events and counting. Parker's fourth qualifying event came in the 110 Hurdles, which he qualified with a time of 16.50 in the prelims, a fifth-best time.
Kharonay Brown turned the corner in a hurry in the 200-meter dash, crossing the line at 28.05 seconds. Brown's time finished her in-18th place out of 57 runners. Jalah Turner finished close behind her with a time of 28.78 seconds, putting Turner in 26th place.
Tyler Levons continued his strong form in the 100-meter dash with a season-best 11 second flat in the 100-meter dash. Levons's time gave him a second-place seed in the prelims. Matthew Hibbert and Taf Bunu took the last spots for the finals of the 100-meter dash. Bunu finished with a season-best in the finals of the 100 meters with an 11.16 second time. Hibbert found his best time in the prelims, running an 11.25 second 100-meter dash. Akeel Blake became the fourth sprinter to meet qualifying standards in the 100 meter-dash with a time of 11.55 seconds. Jimmy Keenan finished 19th overall with a 1.55 second time. Alex Varona was also able to run under 12 seconds today in the 100-meter race with a time of 11.78 seconds.
Matt Gonzalez turned in another strong performance on the track this afternoon by turning in two personal best times on the track. Gonzalez was first to cross the line in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:58.33. Gonzalez was the only runner to finish under nine minutes. He also finished third in the 1,500-meter run, with a time of 4:05.19.
Dan Wyshinski finished 13th in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 9:18.78 and Logan Strouse finished 20th with a time of 9:46.93. Hayward Boutte Jr. finished in 24th with a time of 10:05.39. Mike Dowd finished with a time of 4:28.35 in the 1500-meter race, which put him in 29th out of 58 runners.
On the throwers side, Lina Boussif qualified for another event for the CACC Championships, in the Hammer Throw with a throw of 19.42 meters. Josh Varghese finished in third place with a toss of 43.65 meters in the Hammer Throw. Mitchell Coll topped his best toss again by a few centimeters with a throw of 41.48 meters.
The Wilmington University Track & Field team are back in action next week as the sprinters, jumpers, hurdlers, and throwers head to Towson University on Friday, April 1st, and Saturday, April 2nd. The distance runners will partake in the Widener Invitational in Chester, Pa. on Friday, April 1st, and Saturday, April 2nd.