St. John’s Readies for BIG EAST Indoor Championships

Sunday, March 1

Geneva, Ohio (SPIRE Institute)

St. John's University

BIG EAST Indoor Championships

St. John’s Readies for BIG EAST Indoor Championships

2/27/2020 4:34:00 PM | Women's Track and Field

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The Johnnies will look to improve upon their fourth-place finish last season

By: Jared Anderson

QUEENS, N.Y. (Feb. 27, 2020) – The St. John's track & field team enters its championship slate this weekend as the Red Storm travels to Geneva, Ohio, for the BIG EAST Indoor Track & Field Championships at the SPIRE Institute, beginning on Sunday, March 1.

The Johnnies will have 26 athletes competing across 18 events where they will look to improve upon their fourth-place finish in 2019. St. John's holds conference-leading marks in the 200 meters, 400 meters, 4x800-meter relay, 4x400-meter relay and shot put.

"We are looking forward to a great BIG EAST Championship meet this weekend," said Head Coach Jim Hurt. "Our team has prepared very well and will bring some of the top athletes to the meet. Leah Anderson will participate in several sprint events and Amarys Berry will lead our throwing corps. We will also have a talented group of athletes in the jumps as well as the mid-distance and long-distance events. The meet may come down to the 4x400-meter relay and St. John's is one of the best in the nation."

Anderson leads the way for St. John's, taking the top spot in the BIG EAST with times of 23.54 and 53.25 in the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes, respectively. The junior sprinter's mark in the 400 meters ranks 24^th in the nation while her time in the 200 meters puts her at no. 27. Anderson's mark of 7.52 in the 60-meter dash also sits at second on the conference leaderboard. The Mount Vernon, N.Y., native has racked up three BIG EAST Athlete of the Week awards this season.

Joining Anderson in the 4x400-meter relay is Brianna Burkley, Skyy Diop and Avon Samuels. The relay squad continues to sit at first place in the conference after setting a time of 3:38.74 at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Feb. 14. The mark also ranks no. 45 in the country. The Red Storm shaved nearly four seconds off its previous mark of 3:42.63 that was recorded at the 113^th NYRR Millrose Games on Feb. 8.

Berry will enter the meet as the reigning BIG EAST shot put champion after taking the gold medal last year. The senior thrower currently ranks first in the conference with a distance of 14.82 meters and has garnered one BIG EAST Field Athlete of the Week accolade this season.

Bernadette McGowan, Samantha Morillo and Ashley Walsh will also participate alongside Berry in the shot put.

Junior Eleftheria Christogeorgou is expected to compete in the high jump on Monday. The Athens, Greece, native will participate in the event since taking first place at the Fastrack National Invite on Feb. 14, clearing a mark of 1.60 meters.

St. John's 4x800-meter relay team of Claire Cushing, Chantai Smith, Katherine Bruno and Stephanie Gerland will look to improve its time of 10:27.84 that the squad set at the Metropolitan Championships on Jan. 30.

Junior Antonia Frazier will also participate in the 60-meter hurdles before joining Esmeralda Reyes in the Pentathlon. The duo placed second and fourth, respectively, at the Metropolitan Championships.

The BIG EAST Indoor Championships is scheduled to kick off at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday with the mile prelims before reconvening on Monday at 12 p.m. The two-day meet will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network.