St. John's University Athletics
Track and Field Team Heads To BIG EAST Championships
2/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
Feb. 16, 2006
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's track and field team travels to Akron, Ohio this weekend for the 2006 BIG EAST Indoor Track and Field Championships. The competition gets underway Saturday, Feb. 18 at 11 a.m. Fifteen members of the Red Storm will compete for the top spots in the conference and contend for medals.
"I'm excited about the meet and our chances at the BIG EAST Championship this weekend," said head coach Jim Hurt. "We have a lot of athletes who are either one of the top ranked or in a top five position. I think the girls will do well independently, which will result in a good overall team performance."
The 4x400 meter relay team has one of the best chances for gold this weekend. The relay team recorded the best time in the BIG EAST conference this season, clocking in at 3:42.31. Running in the 4x400 meter relay will be Vanessa Sessa (Washington, D.C), Kaydian Reid (Windsor, Conn.), Thalene King (Manchestar, Jamaica) and Maxcine Foster (Westmoreland, Jamaica).
Reid will also contend for the crown in the 200 meter dash, 400 meter dash, and the 500 meter dash. She holds the best time in the league in the 400 meters, crossing the line in 53.69 seconds. Reid has the conference's fifth best performance in the 200 meters (24.56) and third best in the 500 meters (1:13.52).
Alecia Sewell (Hanover, Jamaica) will compete in the 60 meter dash. She crossed the line in 7.63 seconds for the seventh best time in the BIG EAST. Sessa will participate in the 200 meters (25.22) while Foster (54.91), King (65.35) and Broomes (57.43) will take part in the 400 meter dash. Foster's mark is the third best time in the conference this year. Rounding out the sprints will be Thamara Cherisme (Queens, N.Y.), who will take part in the 500 meters (1:17.20).
Blessing Egwu (Queens, N.Y.) is one of the top contenders in the 20 lb. weight throw competition. Egwu has the second best throw this season in conference. She hurled the weight 19.56 meters (64'2) at the Millrose Games on Feb. 3, and has recorded seven first place finishes in eight competitions, including the Metropolitan Championships. Egwu will also be competing in the shot put. She has posted the third best throw this year in the league when she tossed the shot put 15.07 meters (49' ¼") at the Metropolitan Championships, where she also took home the gold.
Kesheila Reid (St. Ann, Jamaica) and Dominique Eason (Baldwin, N.Y.) will also be competing in the weight throw. Reid's best throw was 16.46 meters (54') while Eason's was 15.49 meters (50'9 ¾").
Kellie Brown (Upper Darby, Pa.) will take part in both the long jump and the triple jump. She has the eighth best performance in the triple jump (11.50 meters, 37'8 ¾") and the 12th best performance in the long jump (5.67 meters, 18'7") in the conference. Venisa Clarke (Montego Bay, Jamaica) will participate in the high jump. She has cleared 1.67 meters (5'6").
Jasmine Barreto (Staten Island, N.Y.) will compete in the distance events this weekend. She has qualified for the 800 meters and the 1,000 meters, clocking in at 2:13.54 and 2:54.30, respectively. Barreto has the 10th best time in the 800 and the 13th in the 1,000 in the league.
Barreto will also compete in the distance medley relay and the 4x800 meter relay. Joining her in the DMR will be Cherisme and Jodey Johnson (Portmore, Jamaica). Cherisme and Johnson will also compete in the 4x800 meter relay along with Rakibat Abiola (Staten Island, N.Y.).
Last season St John's finished in ninth place overall while former Red Storm runner Kerrian Stewart captured the gold medal in the 60 meter dash. Egwu took home the silver in the weight throw. St. John's finished the competition with 11 Top-10 finishes.
Live results can be found on the BIG EAST Conference website or by clicking here.
-Red Storm-
