St. John’s Competes at the Coastal Carolina Invitational

Friday, March 8

Myrtle Beach, S.C.

St. John's University

Coastal Carolina University

St. John’s Competes at the Coastal Carolina Invitational

3/10/2019 10:29:00 AM | Women's Track and Field

The Red Storm compiled four wins and 15 top-three finishers in Myrtle Beach

By: Dylan Smith

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (March 10, 2019) – The St. John's track & field team opened its 2019 outdoor season with a successful trip to Myrtle Beach, competing at the Coastal Carolina Invitational held at the Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium on Friday and Saturday.

            The Red Storm recorded 15 top-three finishers this weekend, including four wins in the 4x100-meter relay, 400-meter dash, 400-meter hurdles and hammer throw.

            The 4x100-meter relay squad of Ja'Tae Joyner, Leah Anderson, Skyy Diop and Destiny Davis secured first place with a time of 48.13 seconds.

            Sprinters Anderson and Diop continued their 400-meter dominance in the outdoor season. The Red Storm's duo crossed the finish line in first and second place with times of 54.97 seconds and 56.71 seconds, respectively. Freshman Kayla Parker also raced in the discipline, posting a 10th-best time at 1:15.16.

            The Johnnies also swept one and two in the 400-meter hurdles on Saturday. Chenoa Sebastian saw her first action since the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship in May 2018 and placed first in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:04.27. Crossing after the graduate student was Torisha LaForce, who finished in second at 1:04.35. Sebastian also added a sixth-best time in the 100-meter hurdles to conclude her opening weekend.

            Thrower Jennifer Odoemene picked up a win in the hammer throw with a personal-best distance of 53.58 meters, surpassing her previous mark set at the Penn Challenge in 2018. The West Orange, N.J., native also claimed second place in the discus with a distance of 41.41 meters

            Along with Odoemene's two podium finishes, St. John's weight throwers were on display all weekend, posting five more top-three distances in Myrtle Beach. Joining the senior hurler on the hammer throw podium was freshman Ashley Walsh. She set a personal record at 44.05 meters to take home third place. Fellow rookie Samantha Morillo also joined Odoemene with a third-place mark of 41.31 meters in the discus.

            Shot putters Amarys Berry and Morillo garnered second and third place finishes with distances of 13.96 meters and 13.21 meters, respectively. Two more Johnnies joined the shot put pair in the final. Najeaya Singleton also had success in the discipline, registering a fifth-place finish with a 12.82-meter throw. Walsh placed seventh after her 12.61-meter toss in the freshman's third try.

            In the 200-meter dash, Kafi Ottley broke her previous record of 25.41 seconds at last season's Miami Hurricane Alumni Invitational by 0.28 seconds. The junior registered a time of 25.13 seconds to secure second place in the event. The junior sprinter also crossed the finish line with the fourth-best time at 57.94 seconds in the 400-meter dash.

            Entering her final outdoor season with the Red Storm, Shannon Page almost swiped first place from Cornerstone's Amanda Sorokin in the 800-meter run. The senior mid-distance runner fell 0.02 seconds shy of taking the top spot with her time of 2:19.48. The Hilton, N.Y., native also posted the fifth-best time of 4:55.03 in the 1,500-meter run. Joining Page in the 1,500-meter top-ten was Stephanie Gerland. The junior ran a 4:55.58 time, good for seventh.

            Amanda Belgrave had a successful meet in Myrtle Beach, registering a fourth-best 10.76-meter triple jump one day after a 10th-place finish in the long jump. Winona Peace competed alongside Belgrave, placing fifth in the triple jump.

            Eboni Birch ranked 10th in the 100-meter hurdles, recording a time of 16.41 seconds. Teammate Antonia Frazier crossed 0.05 seconds later (16.46) to pick up an 11th-place finish.

            The Red Storm returns to action in two weeks when the team heads to Franklin Field on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania to compete in the Penn Challenge on March 23.