St. John's University Athletics
Friday, May 10
Icahn Stadium
St. John's University
vs
Big East Outdoor Championships
St. John’s Finishes in Third at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships
5/11/2019 7:41:00 PM | Women's Track and Field
The Johnnies picked up 11 medals including five first-place finishes
QUEENS, N.Y. (May 11, 2019) – The St. John's track & field team earned 11 medals and finished in third among the women's competition at BIG EAST Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday.
The Red Storm earned 141 points across 22 events with Villanova taking the top spot with 217 points, followed by DePaul in second at 159. The Johnnies secured five gold medal, three silver, and three bronze at Icahn Stadium.
Leah Anderson earned BIG EAST Women's Most Outstanding Track Performer at the championship meet after picking up two individual gold medals, a relay title and a relay bronze medal.
Her first medal of the afternoon came in the 400 meter dash. The sophomore sprinter set a personal record time of 53.10 to rank 40th in nation, tying Tennessee's Martina Weil. The Mount Vernon, N.Y., native beat her previous time of 54.10 that was set at last season's Outdoor Championship.
The win marked the sixth-straight season a Johnnie brought the 400 meter title back to Queens. Former St. John's standout and current Canadian World Relay runner Maya Stephens won back-to-back outdoor championships in 2017 and 2018 while Pariis Garcia won in 2015 and 2016 after Claire Mooney won in 2014. Anderson's 2019 time is the fastest among the six, beating Stephens' 2018 conference championship mark of 53.40. Skyy Diop joined her teammate on the podium, picking up a bronze medal with a personal-best time of 55.57 seconds.
Anderson secured two more gold medals on Saturday, winning the 200 meter sprint and the 4x400 meter relay. In the 200 meter dash, the sophomore sprinter crossed the finish line at 23.93 to beat Villanova's Trudy-Ann Williamson by nearly half a second. Destiny Davis and Diop also competed alongside Anderson, picking up a fifth and eighth-place finish, respectively, with times of 25.18 and 26.38.
St. John's 4x400 meter relay squad of Anderson, Diop, Chenoa Sebastian, and Kafi Ottley grabbed their second-straight BIG EAST gold medal of 2019 with a season-best time of 3:41.46. The team trailed heading into the first handoff, but Anderson caught up in the second lap and never looked back. The Red Storm crossed the finish line nearly three ticks faster than second-place finisher DePaul.
St. John's throwers reached the podium in all four events, combining for five of the Red Storm's 10 medals this weekend.
Following a second-place performance in the hammer throw on Friday, Jennifer Odoemene stole the discus gold medal on Saturday. She entered the finals with the third-best distance before launching the discus a career-best 44.41 meters to secure first place. Samantha Morillo and Najeaya Singleton scored a combined nine points for the Red Storm, hurling the discus 41.60 meters and 41.32 meters, respectively, to earn fifth and sixth place.
Amarys Berry captured her second BIG EAST shot put title of 2019 with this afternoon's win. The junior thrower broke her personal record on Saturday, posting a 14.96-meter mark to secure the gold medal. Morillo joined Berry on the podium with a third-place distance of 13.08 meters to pick up the team's third bronze medal. Bernadette McGowan and Singleton finished in fifth and sixth, respectively, tossing the shot put 12.70 meters and 12.47 meters.
Senior Eboni Birch wrapped up the heptathlon with a third-place finish, racking up 4,338 points over seven events. The Johnnies' captain picked up a third-best score in both the javelin and shot put throws with distances of 35.54 meters and 11.26 meters, respectively. Her fourth-best mark in the 800 meter run sealed her spot on the podium ahead of Butler's Niki Ezeh
The 4x100 meter relay squad of Anderson, Diop, Davis and Ja'Tae Joyner grabbed the final spot on the podium, crossing in third place with a time of 46.94 seconds.
Joyner also secured four points for the Red Storm in the triple jump, springing a distance of 11.43 meters to land in fifth place.
Sophomore Eleftheria Christogeorgou set a new personal record in the high jump, posting a 1.55-meter leap at the championship meet.
BIG EAST Outdoor Track & Field Championship Awards
Women's Coaching Staff of the Year: Villanova
Men's Coaching Staff of the Year: Villanova
Women's Most Outstanding Field Performer: Jade Nolan, DePaul
Women's Most Outstanding Track Performer: Leah Anderson, St. John's
Men's Most Outstanding Field Performer: Samuel Johnson, Marquette
Men's Most Outstanding Track Performer: Brendan Voorhis, DePaul
High Point Performers – Women's: Jade Nolan, DePaul and Leah Anderson, St. John's
High Point Performers – Men's: Terrance Howard, Marquette and Brendan Voorhis, DePaul
Final standings
Women's
1 Villanova - 217
2 DePaul - 159
3 St. John's - 141
4 Marquette - 114
5 Georgetown - 76
6 Butler - 69
7 Providence - 38
8 Xavier - 37
Men's
1 Villanova - 198
2 Marquette - 191
3 DePaul - 168
4 Butler - 127
5 Georgetown - 92
6 Providence - 28
7 Xavier - 21
The Red Storm earned 141 points across 22 events with Villanova taking the top spot with 217 points, followed by DePaul in second at 159. The Johnnies secured five gold medal, three silver, and three bronze at Icahn Stadium.
Leah Anderson earned BIG EAST Women's Most Outstanding Track Performer at the championship meet after picking up two individual gold medals, a relay title and a relay bronze medal.
Her first medal of the afternoon came in the 400 meter dash. The sophomore sprinter set a personal record time of 53.10 to rank 40th in nation, tying Tennessee's Martina Weil. The Mount Vernon, N.Y., native beat her previous time of 54.10 that was set at last season's Outdoor Championship.
The win marked the sixth-straight season a Johnnie brought the 400 meter title back to Queens. Former St. John's standout and current Canadian World Relay runner Maya Stephens won back-to-back outdoor championships in 2017 and 2018 while Pariis Garcia won in 2015 and 2016 after Claire Mooney won in 2014. Anderson's 2019 time is the fastest among the six, beating Stephens' 2018 conference championship mark of 53.40. Skyy Diop joined her teammate on the podium, picking up a bronze medal with a personal-best time of 55.57 seconds.
Anderson secured two more gold medals on Saturday, winning the 200 meter sprint and the 4x400 meter relay. In the 200 meter dash, the sophomore sprinter crossed the finish line at 23.93 to beat Villanova's Trudy-Ann Williamson by nearly half a second. Destiny Davis and Diop also competed alongside Anderson, picking up a fifth and eighth-place finish, respectively, with times of 25.18 and 26.38.
St. John's 4x400 meter relay squad of Anderson, Diop, Chenoa Sebastian, and Kafi Ottley grabbed their second-straight BIG EAST gold medal of 2019 with a season-best time of 3:41.46. The team trailed heading into the first handoff, but Anderson caught up in the second lap and never looked back. The Red Storm crossed the finish line nearly three ticks faster than second-place finisher DePaul.
St. John's throwers reached the podium in all four events, combining for five of the Red Storm's 10 medals this weekend.
Following a second-place performance in the hammer throw on Friday, Jennifer Odoemene stole the discus gold medal on Saturday. She entered the finals with the third-best distance before launching the discus a career-best 44.41 meters to secure first place. Samantha Morillo and Najeaya Singleton scored a combined nine points for the Red Storm, hurling the discus 41.60 meters and 41.32 meters, respectively, to earn fifth and sixth place.
Amarys Berry captured her second BIG EAST shot put title of 2019 with this afternoon's win. The junior thrower broke her personal record on Saturday, posting a 14.96-meter mark to secure the gold medal. Morillo joined Berry on the podium with a third-place distance of 13.08 meters to pick up the team's third bronze medal. Bernadette McGowan and Singleton finished in fifth and sixth, respectively, tossing the shot put 12.70 meters and 12.47 meters.
Senior Eboni Birch wrapped up the heptathlon with a third-place finish, racking up 4,338 points over seven events. The Johnnies' captain picked up a third-best score in both the javelin and shot put throws with distances of 35.54 meters and 11.26 meters, respectively. Her fourth-best mark in the 800 meter run sealed her spot on the podium ahead of Butler's Niki Ezeh
The 4x100 meter relay squad of Anderson, Diop, Davis and Ja'Tae Joyner grabbed the final spot on the podium, crossing in third place with a time of 46.94 seconds.
Joyner also secured four points for the Red Storm in the triple jump, springing a distance of 11.43 meters to land in fifth place.
Sophomore Eleftheria Christogeorgou set a new personal record in the high jump, posting a 1.55-meter leap at the championship meet.
BIG EAST Outdoor Track & Field Championship Awards
Women's Coaching Staff of the Year: Villanova
Men's Coaching Staff of the Year: Villanova
Women's Most Outstanding Field Performer: Jade Nolan, DePaul
Women's Most Outstanding Track Performer: Leah Anderson, St. John's
Men's Most Outstanding Field Performer: Samuel Johnson, Marquette
Men's Most Outstanding Track Performer: Brendan Voorhis, DePaul
High Point Performers – Women's: Jade Nolan, DePaul and Leah Anderson, St. John's
High Point Performers – Men's: Terrance Howard, Marquette and Brendan Voorhis, DePaul
Final standings
Women's
1 Villanova - 217
2 DePaul - 159
3 St. John's - 141
4 Marquette - 114
5 Georgetown - 76
6 Butler - 69
7 Providence - 38
8 Xavier - 37
Men's
1 Villanova - 198
2 Marquette - 191
3 DePaul - 168
4 Butler - 127
5 Georgetown - 92
6 Providence - 28
7 Xavier - 21
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
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