St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
NCAA East Regional
Red Storm Relay Finishes 23rd At NCAA East Regional
6/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
June 1, 2014
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The St. John's track & field team put an end to a memorable year and season of competition on Saturday evening as the Red Storm's 4x400-meter relay finished 23rd in the Eastern U.S. after claiming eighth place in the first of three quarterfinal heats at the NCAA East Regional staged by North Florida University in Jacksonville, Fla.
The East and West regionals serve as the preliminary round to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, with the top 12 individuals and relay teams in each event from each region qualifying for the NCAA Final in Eugene, Ore., from June 11-14. This week marked the 23rd consecutive year that St. John's track & field has been represented at the NCAA Championships.
"We finished another outstanding year by placing our 4x400-meter relay 23rd in the Eastern United States," said Red Storm head coach Jim Hurt. "Our ladies battled all year to get to the NCAAs so it was gratifying to see them compete at North Florida. Seniors Shayna Presley and Amber Allen led our team all year, and Claire Mooney and Pariis Garcia will bring their NCAA experience back to our team next year. I am very proud of their and Coach Yvonne Harrison's efforts in taking our program to consecutive NCAA Championship appearances."
Presley, Allen, Mooney and Garcia combined for a time of 3:41.72 on Saturday night. The quartet secured the final East Regional qualifying spot thanks to its conference-leading 3:38.18 clocking at this season's Penn Relays. Earlier this campaign, the same combination of athletes claimed silver at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship with a time of 3:42.33, while St. John's took gold in the event at the indoor conference championship meet this year with senior Rikka Lovely featuring on the team. Saturday marked the second consecutive year that the Red Storm has qualified its 4x400-meter relay team to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, as Presley and Mooney were members of St. John's relay which advanced through last year's East Regional and to the 2013 NCAA Final in Eugene, placing 21st in the country while running the second-fastest time in school history.
On Thursday afternoon, senior Danette Hinton capped her breakthrough final campaign with the Red Storm by placing 29th out of 48 competitors in the hammer throw at the NCAA East Regional. Hinton led the BIG EAST in the hammer throw this season thanks to a personal-best toss of 57.07 meters, which ranks No. 4 all-time at St. John's. She was this season's runner-up at the BIG EAST Championship in the event with a mark of 53.89 meters and at the indoor conference meet claimed the Red Storm's first conference crown of the new BIG EAST era by claiming gold in the weight throw.
In addition to qualifying five athletes to this week's NCAA Championships, St. John's won a total of five BIG EAST titles this year and saw Mooney claim her second-consecutive ECAC Championships 500-meter dash title in early March. Mooney was the indoor conference champion in the same event and won the outdoor 400-meter dash crown in early May, while Garcia, who also returns next season, finished fourth in the 400-meter dash at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship.
Players Mentioned
