Press Release written by Mitchell Coll
NEWARK, Del. - - The Wilmington University track and field teams were at two places at once over the weekend as the sprinters, jumpers, hurdlers, and throwers were at the Towson Open Friday and Saturday, and the distance runner were at the Danny Curran Invite hosted by Widener University.
Towson; Friday:
It was a historic day for sophomore Akeel Blake. Blake, the reigning CACC champion in the Men's Long Jump, accomplished a feat that no other Wildcat has before. Akeel Blake hit the provisional qualifying mark for the NCAA Division II National Championships. Blake leaped to a mark of 7.49 meters. Blake's jump unofficially ties him for second in the nation in the event.
Continuing on the field side, Josh Varghese finished seventh overall in the shot put, as he was one of eight throwers to move onto the finals. Varghese's best toss of the day rounded out to 12.99 meters.
To the track, Shemar Parker was able to return to the 55-second and change mark in the 400-meter hurdles, running the fasted time in the event for the Wildcats so far this season. Parker finished fifth overall with a time of 55.31 seconds.
Taf Bunu improves on his season best in the 200-meter dash. Bunu ran a 22.33 second 200 to place 6th overall.
Freshmen Jada Obegi improved her season best to 11.44 meters in the shot put and is the only Wildcat ever to throw 11 meters or above. Obegi finished 8th overall.
Danny Curran Invite; Friday:
The distance crew went to the Danny Curran Invite to compete in the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter distances. Mike Dowd and Nicholas Licup both ran the 5,000-meter race. Dowd finished at 17:04.10 and Licup at 18:44.18. On the women's side, the Wildcats earned two more qualifying times for the CACC Championships in the 5,000-meter. Yailynn Ramirez and Tiffany Banning both qualified. Ramirez ran 19:02.58, while Banning ran 19:09.36.
Trent Taylor led the Wildcats in the 10,000-meter, finishing time of 32:14.60. Daniel Wyshinski was behind him with a finishing time of 33:25.10. Alexa Crowell was the lone runner in the 10,000-meter run, and she finished sixth overall with a time of 40:21.40.
Towson; Saturday:
The men's 4x100 meter relay team highlighted the day by running the fastest time in the program's history. The relay team of Matthew Hibbert, Bradley Spencer, Akeel Blake, and Taf Bunu ran a third-best time of 41.76, topping the 2021 Wilmington time of 41.94 that won at the CACC Championships.
Akeel Blake continued his strong weekend in the triple jump, breaking his school record by leaping 14.30 meters. Blake finished third overall out of 17 jumpers.
On the side of the thrower, three throwers reached the finals on Saturday. First, Josh Varghese finished eighth out of the nine finalists in the javelin throw. Varghese's best toss of the day came in at 38.90 meters. Next, Abagail Chomo improved on her best distance and school record mark by finishing fifth overall in the javelin throw. Chomo's best throw was 28.22 meters. Finally, Freja Olofsson made it to the finals of the discus throw after starting in the second of three flights. Olofsson also improved her school record mark by throwing a distance of 37.40 meters for a ninth-place finish.
Up Next:
The Wildcats will be back in action at the Osprey Open at the G. Larry James Stadium in Galloway, N.J., on Friday and Saturday, April 7 and 8.