St. John’s Takes First at Lions Indoor Invitational

Saturday, January 12

New York, NY

St. John's University

Lions Indoor Invitational

St. John’s Takes First at Lions Indoor Invitational

1/13/2019 11:02:00 AM | Women's Track and Field

The Red Storm finished in first with 128 points, seven points ahead of Rutgers

MANHATTAN, N.Y. (Jan. 13, 2019) – The St. John's track & field team rang in 2019 with a first place team finish at the Lions Indoor Invitational on Saturday evening.

            "I am very proud of our overall team effort that allowed us to take the team title," said Head Coach Jim Hurt. "Each of our athletes competed well from the first event through our win the 4x400m to end the meet."

          The 4x400m relay team's win pushed St. John's into first place with 128 points. Torisha LaForce, Skyy Diop, Brianna Burkley and Kafi Ottley ran a combined 3:56.96 to beat Rutgers by two seconds in the race and by seven points in the meet.

            In addition to the 4x400m relay team's sprinting success, sophomore Leah Anderson dashed her way to two first-place finishes at the New Balance Track and Field Armory in Manhattan. The Mount Vernon native raced to the podium with a time of 24.81 in the 200m dash before posting a time of 56.25 in the 400m.

            The sprinters were not the only ones to find top-three finishes at the Armory.

          Jumper Ja'Tae Joyner turned in what Coach Hurt called a "sensational" day, snapping two personal bests. The freshman took first place in the triple jump with a distance of 11.79m, eclipsing her previous record by nearly half a meter. Her long jump of 5.67m also marked a personal best and took third place at the meet.

          Weight throwers Jennifer Odoemene (17.24m) and Bernadette McGowan (16.20m) placed second and third, respectively, in the event. Amarys Berry and Samantha Morillo also registered second and third-place finishes in the shot put with throws of 13.53m and 13.38m, respectively.

            "Coach John McCree's throwers and Coach Aliann Pompey's sprinters are the real deal," said Coach Hurt.

            Senior Destiny Davis finished third in the 60-meter dash and matched a personal best with a time of 7.87. Hurdler Eboni Birch, who finished fifth, set a personal record time of 9.03 in the 60m hurdle preliminaries to gain a spot in the invitational finals.

            "It's a great way to kick off the 2019 season and bodes well for good things to come as the season progresses," said Coach Hurt.

            The Red Storm returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 19, for the Penn Select held at Staten Island's Ocean Breeze Track and Field Athletic Complex.