St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Last Chance Meet
Gerasimova Hits NCAA Regional Mark At NYC Qualifying Challenge
5/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
May 11, 2009
QUEENS, N.Y. - St. John's graduate student transfer, Arina Gerasimova posted the Red Storm's fourth NCAA qualifier this season, as she placed second in the triple jump at the NYC Qualifying Challenge hosted at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island, N.Y., on Saturday.
Gerasimova's jump of 12.51 meters (41 feet, 0.5 inches) was a season-best distance for the graduate student. The mark unofficially ranks her 50th on the national list and 15th in the East Region.
Senior Phobay Kutu-Akoi raced to her fourth event win in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.70 seconds. She easily defeated the second place runner, Jernail Hayes of Seton Hall, by .28 seconds. Hayes and Kutu-Akoi ran in the same heat. Kutu-Akoi's season-best time of 11.52 seconds is the eighth-best time in the East Region.
Senior Paula Rennalls placed fourth in the same race with a season-best time of 12.14 seconds. Rennall's time was just enough to narrowly qualify her for the upcoming ECAC Championships, which are five days away.
Sophomore Shavone Williams also competed in the event. She finished 11th with a season-best time of 12.61 seconds.
In the hammer throw, rookie Chanel King finished 10th with a distance of 30.73 meters (100 feet, 10 inches). Red Storm alumna Blessing Egwu won the event with a distance of 50.80 meters (166 feet, 8 inches). King also finished fourth in the shot put with a distance of 12.93 meters (42 feet, 5.25 inches). Sophomore Courtney Kolinsky finished 10th with a distance of 8.75 meters (28 feet, 8.5 inches). King and Kolinsky also competed in the discus throw. King placed sixth (35.38 meters; 116 feet, 1 inch); while Kolinsky finished 14th (23.63 meters; 77 feet, 6 inches).
Senior Venisa Clarke-Lee hit another postseason qualifying height in the high jump with a third place height of 1.70 meters (5 feet, 7 inches). Clarke-Lee also competed in the 200-meter dash where she ran an ECAC qualifying time of 24.84 seconds. The senior was runner up in the event, second only to Whitney Fountain a junior from Dynamite Track Club. Williams also ran in the race, finishing ninth with a time of 25.82 seconds.
In the 400-meter dash, sophomore Rene Cousins finished fourth with a season-best time of 56.98 seconds. Classmate Lauren Wynter finished 11th with a time of 58.17 seconds.
In the 1,500-meter run, rookie Nicole Cocozza finished 10th with a time of 5:03.98, a season-best time for the freshman. Sophomores Katrina Schaefer and Lori Dougherty finished 19th and 20th, respectively.
Junior Asia Davy placed fifth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:03.89.
Seven St. John's student-athletes ran in the 800-meter run; with four of them placing in the top 20. Senior Tyneka Greene led the pack with an 11th-place time of 2:15.35. Sophomore Shakira Best and freshman Aryon Trujillo ran season-best times with .20 seconds between them to finish 17th (2:20.08) and 18th (2:20.28). Junior Pamela Petruski finished 20th with a time of 2:21.62.
Junior Fayanne Francis finished seventh in the long jump with a season-best distance of 5.62 meters (18 feet, 5.25 inches). Senior Marie Griffiths also competed with a distance of 5.16 meters (16 feet, 11.25 inches), to finish 12th.
Up next, St. John's will compete at the 2009 ECAC Championships, hosted by Princeton in Princeton, N.J. The championships will begin on Friday, May 15 and will go though Sunday, May 17.
Players Mentioned
