Men Sit in Second, Women Ninth after Track Events at 2022 CACC Championships

File photo of Shemar Parker who won the 400-meter hurdle event at the CACC Championships on Sunday.
File photo of Shemar Parker who won the 400-meter hurdle event at the CACC Championships on Sunday.

Press Release Written by Mitchell Coll

LAKEWOOD, N.J. - - Despite the challenges with this weekend's weather, the Wilmington University Track & Field Team completed the running events at the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championships on Saturday and Sunday at Georgian Court University. The duration of the meet will end on Wednesday, May 11 with the field events.

The men set three program records on Sunday on their way to 80 points and a second place standing with the field events still to be held. The women have one new program record and sit in ninth place with 15 points after Sunday.

Men

The Men's Track & Field has one conference champion as of today in the 400-meter hurdles, Shemar Parker. Parker tops the CACC in the event and breaks his school record in the process. Parker crossed the line in 55.06 seconds. Freshman Bradley Spencer placed in the first event of his collegiate career with a third-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles, with a time of 56.63 seconds. Mike Dowd also scored two points for the Wildcats in 400-meter hurdles with a 7th place finish and a time of 1:01.40.

In the lone event on Saturday, May 7, the 10,000-meter, Dan Wyshinski earned the silver medal with a time of 33:24.31. Hayward Boutte Jr. earns a crucial point in the event, with an eighth-place finish time of 35:15.17.

Wyshinski had another second-place finish in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:49.89. Logan Strouse finished in 13th place with a time of 17:02.24. Mike Dowd finished right behind Strouse with a time of 17:12.39, good for 15th place. Boutte Jr. finished in 16th place with a time of 17:17.93.

Matt Gonzalez finishes as the top Wildcat finisher in the 1,500-meter race, despite battling an injury. Gonzalez finished in fourth place with a time of 4:11.66. Logan Strouse earned two points with a time of 4:17.64 and a 7th place finish.

Matt Hibbert finished with the fastest time amongst the Wildcats with a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter dash, with a time of 11.03 seconds. Tafadziswa Bunu also scores points in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.11 seconds, a sixth-place finish. Alex Varona and James Keenan finish with an identical time of 11.41 seconds, tied for 11th place.

Taf Bunu earns the bronze medal in the 200-meter dash with a season-best time of 22.12 seconds. Matthew Hibbert earns two points in the 200-meter dash with a 7th place finish with a time of 22.43 seconds.

Akeel Blake finishes in 10th place in the 400-meter dash with a final time of 52.19 seconds.

Bradley Spencer earns five points in the 110-meter-high hurdle events, a fourth-place finish, with a time of 15.31 seconds, setting a new program record.

The 4x100 relay team of James Keenan, Taf Bunu, Alex Varona, and Matthew Hibbert earned five points with a fourth-place finish, crossing the line at 42.95 seconds.

The 4x400 meter relay team of Akeel Blake, Matthew Hibbert, Taf Bunu, and Shemar Parker earn a bronze medal, finishing with a school-record time of 3:26.84.

After Sunday the Wilmington Men's Track & Field Team currently sits in second place with 80 total points with the field events still left to go.

Women

Lina Boussif started the Wildcats in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase, earning two points with a 7th place finish time of 14:25.62.

Next, the 4x100 meter relay team of Layla Hunt, Jalah Turner, Lina Boussif, and Kharonay Brown earned three points with a 6th place finish.

Layla Hunt earns two points in the 100-meter hurdles, finishing in 7th place with a time of 15.72 seconds, setting a new program record. Brown finished in 12th place with a time of 16.35 seconds.

Rounding out the hurdle events, Hunt earns 6th place and 3 points with a time of 1:10.14. Lina Boussif finishes in 12th place with a time of 1:19.22.

Jalah Turner can be in the sub-14 second range again with a time of 13.51 seconds and a 12th place finish.

Kharonay Brown finishes with her top time in the 200-meter dash on the season, with a time of 27.02 and a 10th place finish.

They rounded out the day in the 4x400 meter relay, consisting of Layla Hunt, Jalah Turner, Lina Boussif, and Kharonay Brown. The relay team five points with a fourth-place finish time of 4:25.51.

After Sunday, the Wilmington University Women's Track & Field Team sits in 9th place with 15 points scored, heading into Wednesday.

Up Next

The Wildcats round out the CACC Championships on Wednesday, May 11, with the field events. The events kick off at 10:30 AM with Men's Javelin, Women's Hammer, Women's Pole Vault, Men's High Jump, and Women's Triple Jump.