St. John's University Athletics
Sunday, December 8
Staten Island, N.Y. (Ocean Breeze)
St. John's University
at
Bill Ward Invitational
St. John’s Concludes 2019 at Bill Ward Invitational
12/8/2019 8:06:00 PM | Women's Track and Field
The Johnnies earned 23 finishes inside the top three
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (Dec. 8, 2019) – Following a successful day at the Fordham Season Opener on Friday, the St. John's track & field team closed out 2019 with 23 finishes inside the top three at the 10th annual Bill Ward Invitational at Ocean Breeze on Sunday.
The Red Storm also hosted its seventh annual Olympic Day, led by guest speaker Maya Stephens and Olympic Bronze Medalist and volunteer assistant coach Tom Farrell.
"Our opening weekend showed that we have the makings of a very good team as the year progresses," Head Coach Jim Hurt said. "Seeing the amount of personal best marks and ECAC qualifying scores that we put up this weekend is very satisfying. All the hard work this fall is paying off and we look to do much more in 2020."
For the second straight meet, assistant coach John McCree's throwers swept the competition, earning the top spots in both the shot put and the weight throw.
Amarys Berry snatched first place for the second time in three days with an ECAC qualifying shot put throw of 14.27 meters. Najeaya Singleton proceeded Berry in second with a distance of 13.27 meters, followed by Samantha Morillo in third with a 12.47-meter mark. Ashley Walsh and Bernadette McGowan rounded out the top five with respective throws of 12.08 and 12.01 meters.
Walsh also repeated as the competition leader in the weight throw, scoring a distance of 16.31 meters to qualify for the ECAC Championships. Morillo also earned an ECAC qualifying mark when she finished behind her fellow classmate in second, launching the 20 lb. weight 16.05 meters. For the second time in as many meets, Berry and McGowan earned third and fourth place finishes with throws of 15.47 and 15.23 meters, respectively.
NJCAA transfer Avon Samuels earned the top finish in the 300 meter dash, the first of her career with the Red Storm. The Guyana native raced around the Ocean Breeze track with a time of 39.24. Sophomore Skyy Diop crossed in second place with a time of 39.92, followed by Destiny Davis in third with 40.52.
The aforementioned trio also rallied to a podium sweep in the 200 meter dash. Davis and Samuels registered ECAC qualifying times with their first and second place marks of 24.71 and 24.86, respectively. Diop closed out the top three with a time of 25.43, while Brianna Burkley nearly crossed in fourth place with the fifth-best time of 26.70.
The product out of South Huntington also scored a second place at Ocean Breeze in the 400 meter dash. Burkley was one of two runners to finish the race in under a minute with her time of 57.95. Freshman Nyela Williams cracked the top five with a score of 1:01.98.
Leah Anderson and Grace Adolphe battled to the finish line in a thrilling 800 meter run, one that almost saw freshman Adolphe take first place. Anderson raced around the track in 2:24.72, but the Johnnies' newcomer rallied in the home stretch to nearly pass Anderson with a time of 2:24.82. Fellow freshman Tiffany Ann-Matturro nearly capped off the top three with the fourth-best mark of 2:38.95.
Senior Stephanie Gerland set a new personal record in the mile run, earning second place with her time of 5:11.89. Katherine Bruno also recorded a podium finish, crossing with a score of 5:20.59.
Much like Gerland, Eleftheria Christogeorgou and Chantai Smith also scored a second place finishes at the Bill Ward. Christogeorgou reached a personal-best height of 1.55 meters in the high jump, while Smith ran a 1:18.09 in the 500 meter dash.
The graduate transfer, Smith, also rallied to a third-place mark with Kayla Parker, Melissa Greaves, and Marsella Ventura in the 4x400 meter relay, registering a time of 4:06.70.
Gabriela Kelly and Morgan Fritscher shared the top spot in the pole vault, both reaching the 2.59 meter height on their second attempt.
Junior hurdler Antonia Frazier fought over through the 60 meter hurdles with a third place finish with a time of 9.39.
The Red Storm will return to action in 2020 when Coach Hurt's squad heads back to Ocean Breeze for the Penn 8-Team Select on Jan. 18.
The Red Storm also hosted its seventh annual Olympic Day, led by guest speaker Maya Stephens and Olympic Bronze Medalist and volunteer assistant coach Tom Farrell.
"Our opening weekend showed that we have the makings of a very good team as the year progresses," Head Coach Jim Hurt said. "Seeing the amount of personal best marks and ECAC qualifying scores that we put up this weekend is very satisfying. All the hard work this fall is paying off and we look to do much more in 2020."
For the second straight meet, assistant coach John McCree's throwers swept the competition, earning the top spots in both the shot put and the weight throw.
Amarys Berry snatched first place for the second time in three days with an ECAC qualifying shot put throw of 14.27 meters. Najeaya Singleton proceeded Berry in second with a distance of 13.27 meters, followed by Samantha Morillo in third with a 12.47-meter mark. Ashley Walsh and Bernadette McGowan rounded out the top five with respective throws of 12.08 and 12.01 meters.
Walsh also repeated as the competition leader in the weight throw, scoring a distance of 16.31 meters to qualify for the ECAC Championships. Morillo also earned an ECAC qualifying mark when she finished behind her fellow classmate in second, launching the 20 lb. weight 16.05 meters. For the second time in as many meets, Berry and McGowan earned third and fourth place finishes with throws of 15.47 and 15.23 meters, respectively.
NJCAA transfer Avon Samuels earned the top finish in the 300 meter dash, the first of her career with the Red Storm. The Guyana native raced around the Ocean Breeze track with a time of 39.24. Sophomore Skyy Diop crossed in second place with a time of 39.92, followed by Destiny Davis in third with 40.52.
The aforementioned trio also rallied to a podium sweep in the 200 meter dash. Davis and Samuels registered ECAC qualifying times with their first and second place marks of 24.71 and 24.86, respectively. Diop closed out the top three with a time of 25.43, while Brianna Burkley nearly crossed in fourth place with the fifth-best time of 26.70.
The product out of South Huntington also scored a second place at Ocean Breeze in the 400 meter dash. Burkley was one of two runners to finish the race in under a minute with her time of 57.95. Freshman Nyela Williams cracked the top five with a score of 1:01.98.
Leah Anderson and Grace Adolphe battled to the finish line in a thrilling 800 meter run, one that almost saw freshman Adolphe take first place. Anderson raced around the track in 2:24.72, but the Johnnies' newcomer rallied in the home stretch to nearly pass Anderson with a time of 2:24.82. Fellow freshman Tiffany Ann-Matturro nearly capped off the top three with the fourth-best mark of 2:38.95.
Senior Stephanie Gerland set a new personal record in the mile run, earning second place with her time of 5:11.89. Katherine Bruno also recorded a podium finish, crossing with a score of 5:20.59.
Much like Gerland, Eleftheria Christogeorgou and Chantai Smith also scored a second place finishes at the Bill Ward. Christogeorgou reached a personal-best height of 1.55 meters in the high jump, while Smith ran a 1:18.09 in the 500 meter dash.
The graduate transfer, Smith, also rallied to a third-place mark with Kayla Parker, Melissa Greaves, and Marsella Ventura in the 4x400 meter relay, registering a time of 4:06.70.
Gabriela Kelly and Morgan Fritscher shared the top spot in the pole vault, both reaching the 2.59 meter height on their second attempt.
Junior hurdler Antonia Frazier fought over through the 60 meter hurdles with a third place finish with a time of 9.39.
The Red Storm will return to action in 2020 when Coach Hurt's squad heads back to Ocean Breeze for the Penn 8-Team Select on Jan. 18.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Track and Field
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