St. John's University Athletics
Sprint Relays Qualify For Penn Relays College Finals
4/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
April 23, 2015
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PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- A pair of finals-qualifying performances in two marquee events of the famed Penn Relays highlighted a busy day of action for the St. John's track and field team on Thursday at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. The Red Storm opened competition on of the sport's biggest stages by competing in six events while featuring in the throws, jumps and both sprint and distance relays. St. John's claimed finishes in the top-fifth of 80-team fields in the college women's 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays to book places in the event finals scheduled for the rest of the week.
"The weather turned cold but our efforts continued to be hot as our 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays advanced to the finals and the distance medley ran a seasonal best," said St. John's head coach Jim Hurt. "Nyla Woods and Ann Dagrin made the finals and Nyla the podium in the college hammer. It was a brutal weather day but our ladies continue to impress."
The Red Storm's day in the relays got underway with a heat-winning effort in the preliminary round of the college women's 4x100-meter. Running in the 10th of 11 heats, the quartet of senior LaTasha Collins, junior Shenika King, and freshmen Maya Stephens and Julia Schwan crossed the finish line first in 47.17 seconds, finishing 17th overall out of 89 finishing teams to qualify for the college final on Friday at 1:05 p.m. St. John's time on Thursday was its second-fastest clocking of the season.
The Red Storm finished in the top fifth of an 82-team field in the heats of the college women's 4x400-meter relay, with the team of senior Nastasya Rodriques, juniors Pariis Garcia and Raquel Ricketts, and freshman Marlow Schulz placing 14th overall in a time of 3:47.92. St. John's will feature in the college final at 5:35 p.m. on Saturday.
In the college women's distance medley, the team of junior Stephanie Van Pelt (3:35.59), sophomore Christine Oguledo (59.80), junior Michelle Van Pelt (2:19.65) and freshman Izzi Batt-Doyle (4:57.79) combined for a time of 11:52.81, finishing eighth in a 20-team field. The Red Storm relay finished less than six seconds out of third place and posted a time within ten seconds of the school record set in 1999.
In the college women's hammer throw, freshman Nyla Woods led a trio of Red Storm competitors with a third-place finish in a field of 33 with a mark of 54.09 meters (177 feet, five inches). Also cracking the top-10 was junior Ann Dagrin who placed ninth with a throw of 51.61 meters while senior Natasha Amazan was 22nd with a toss of 48.08 meters. Amazan also competed in the college women's shot put, reaching 12.67 meters to place 33rd out of 50 competitors.
Representing St. John's in the college women's long jump, freshman Anointing Onuoha recorded a jump of 5.39 meters to finish 26th out of 53 jumpers.
The Penn Relays is one of the premier track & field events on the international calendar, attracting more than 20,000 entrants annually representing more than 60 different countries. The oldest and biggest meets of its kind, the three-day event gathers competitors of all ages and levels of competition, and is home to the popular "USA vs. The World" and Championship of America races.
In addition to the college finals of the 4x100-meter relay, St. John's will feature in the heats of the college women's 4x200-meter relay on Friday in Phialdephia.
To keep up to date on all results and team news at the Penn Relays, follow on Twitter @StJohnsXCTF and by using the hashtag #stjohnstf. To be added to the St. John's women's track & field fans e-mail list send a message to Edouard.boulat13@stjohns.edu with the subject: "St. John's women's TF e-mail."
