St. John's University Athletics
Red Storm Sprinters Compete At Adidas Grand Prix
6/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
RANDALL'S ISLAND, N.Y. -- Over the weekend four Red Storm sprinters competed against the world's best at the 2015 Adidas Grand Prix in New York City.
Juniors Pariis Garcia, Shenika King, Racquell Ricketts and sophomore Christine Oguledo traveled to Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island this Saturday to test their skills against world-class competition that included several U.S. Olympians such as DeeDee Trotter (400 meters), Francena McCorory (400 meters), Natasha Hastings (4x400 meter relay), Lolo Jones (100 meter hurdles) and Tianna Bartoletta (100 meters, 4x100 meter relay). Â
"We're very pleased to have them compete and we appreciate all the work they have put in and all of the work Coach Pompey has done to get them competing at such a high level," said St. John's head coach Jim Hurt.
The Adidas Grand Prix is one of 14 meets in the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) Diamond League series, which brings together the best track and field athletes in the world and includes events in the United States, China, Europe and Qatar.
Garcia was back in action Saturday after competing in the 400-meters at the 2015 NCAA East Preliminary Round in Jacksonville, Fla., two weeks ago. With a star-studded field on the track, the Staten Island, N.Y., native held her own as she placed sixth out of lane two with a finishing time of 54.86 seconds. Garcia would later join her teammates, King, Ricketts and Ogueldo, as they competed in the 4x400-meter relay for the Shore Athletic Club. The quartet finished third with a time of 3 minutes, 49.18 seconds. Â
Garcia is the program's seventh-fastest performer in the outdoor 400-meter dash and has claimed both indoor and outdoor BIG EAST titles in the event in 2015, as well as anchoring St. John's 4x400-meter relay which also completed a conference double and claimed an indoor ECAC title. She recently set a personal-best time of 53.69 in a runner-up finish at the 2015 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Outdoor Championships in May.
Garcia was not the only Red Storm student-athlete to enjoy a breakout season, as Oguledo took home the gold in the 400-meter hurdles at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship last month. She became the program's first-ever women's 400-meter hurdle champion with a personal-best time of 1:01.34. The Sicklerville, N.J., native is no stranger to competing with Garcia, as the two paired up with freshman Marlow Schulz and Ricketts to earn silver-medal honors in the 4x400-meter relay final at the ECAC Outdoor Championships last month.
St. John's Alum Sets National Record At Adidas Grand Prix
Priscilla Frederick, St. John' s record holder in the high jump, set the Antigua & Barbuda national record in the event this weekend at Icahn Stadium. Frederick placed sixth by clearing the bar at 1.88 meters (6 feet, 2 inches). Ruth Beitia of Spain set a meet record to win the event with a jump of 1.97 meters (6 feet, 5.5 inches).
Frederick, a 2012 St. John's graduate, was a four-time All-American selection with the Red Storm and owns both the school indoor (1.82) and outdoor (1.84) track & field high jump records. The Sicklerville, N.J. native set the indoor school mark in a 10th-place finish at the 2011 NCAA Championships and the outdoor program mark in a winning effort at the 2010 ECAC Championships. Frederick also won the high jump at the 2011 BIG EAST Indoor Championships and boasts the second fastest 60-meter hurdle time, indoor pentathlon and outdoor heptathlon performances in school history.
Players Mentioned
