Press Release written by Mitchell Coll
WEST CHESTER, Pa. - - The Wildcats battled rainy conditions for the second time this year at West Chester, as the meet was canceled in the afternoon due to weather, but only after most of the events were recorded at the 2023 Bill Butler Invitational. The men finished tied for third overall, while the women placed 13th.
Men:
The men tied for third place out of 18 teams, finishing with 45 points. On the men's side, the Wildcats had one first-place finish in Akeel Blake in the long jump. Blake's best leap measured at 6.89 meters, outjumping 27 total jumpers. Blake also finished fifth overall in the high jump, clearing the bar at 1.90 meters.
In the other field events, Josh Varghese scored four points with a best toss of 40.01 meters. Varghese finished fifth overall in the event.
The winner of the 4x100-meter relay race was a difference of a hundredth of a second between Susquehanna University and the Wildcats as the 'photo-finish' race had the Wildcats in second. The Wildcats finished with a total time of 42.70 seconds, while Susquehanna finished at 42.69 seconds.
Mike Dowds's final kick in the last lap of the 3,000-meter steeple helped him hold onto second place overall in the event. Dowd finished the race in 10:18.73 and was the top CACC finisher out of four CACC athletes in the steeple.
In the 110-meter hurdles, both Bradley Spencer and Jalen Bailey scored points for the Wildcats. Spencer finished sixth overall with a time of 15.64 seconds, and Bailey finished seventh with a time of 15.87 seconds.
In the 100-meter dash, Taf Bunu finished third overall out of 57 runners. Bunu crossed the line at 11.18 seconds.
Women:
The women finished in 13th place out of 19 teams, with 22 points. Temi Mustapha scored points again in the 100-meter dash, placing fifth overall out of 66 total sprinters. Mustapha finished with 12.85 seconds, which is the fastest time for a Wildcat this season. Mustapha also earned a point in the triple jump, as she leaped 10.49 meters into the sand to finish eighth overall.
Tiffany Banning earned the Wildcats a point in the 1,500-meter run. Banning and Yailynn Ramirez become the first runners in program history to run the 1,500-meter in sub-5 minutes. Banning placed eighth overall with a record-setting time of 4:58.93.
Layla Hunt runs the same time as a week ago in the 100-meter hurdles, with a finishing time of 16.56 seconds. Hunt placed fifth overall out of 20 hurdlers.
The 4x100-meter relay team finished second overall out of eight teams. In addition, the relay team finished with the best time of the season so far at 50.54 seconds.
Viviana Caamano and Freja Olofsson score points for the Wildcats in the hammer throw. Caamano finishes sixth overall with her best toss of 39.15 meters. Olofsson finished in eighth place overall with a best mark of 37.52 meters.
Up Next:
The Wildcats will travel to Baltimore, Maryland, to compete in the Johns Hopkins Invite on Saturday, April 22nd with more details to follow.