Leah Anderson Earns BIG EAST Most Outstanding Track Performer at Outdoor Championships

Friday, May 13

Storrs, Conn.

St. John's University

BIG EAST Outdoor Championships

Photo by: Geoffrey Bolte / Clarus Multimed

Photo by: Photographer / Clarus Multimedia Group

Photo by: Mike Orazzi / Clarus Multimedia Group

Photo by: Photographer / Clarus Multimedia Group

Photo by: Mike Orazzi / Clarus Multimedia Group

Photo by: Mike Orazzi / Clarus Multimedia Group

Photo by: Geoffrey Bolte / Clarus Multimed

Photo by: Photographer / Clarus Multimedia Group

Leah Anderson Earns BIG EAST Most Outstanding Track Performer at Outdoor Championships

5/14/2022 11:22:00 PM | Women's Track and Field

Results (PDF)Photo Gallery

Red Storm finishes fourth as a team in Storrs, Conn.

By: Alex Whisnant

STORRS, Conn.- The St. John's track and field program enjoyed tremendous success over two days at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships on the campus of the University of Connecticut. The Red Storm tallied five event wins and collected nine medals overall. The Johnnies finished fourth as a team with 108 cumulative points, marking the seventh consecutive season with a finish of fourth place or better.

For the third consecutive season, Leah Anderson was named the BIG EAST Most Outstanding Track Performer and the meet's high-point performer, solidifying her place as one of the conference's all-time best track athletes.

In the 100-meter dash, Tatyana McKenzie set a program record with a time of 11.50 to win her preliminary heat. McKenzie followed up her historic performance with a gold medal on Saturday, posting a time of 11.81. Brooklyn Chestnut secured bronze with a time of 12.10.

Anderson took home gold in the 200-meter dash for the third straight outdoor season, crossing the finish line with 23.49 on the clock. McKenzie continued her excellent meet by picking up silver with a time of 23.63. Skyy Diop grabbed fourth, completing the race in 24.21 seconds.

The Red Storm dominance continued in the 400-meters as Anderson collected her second individual win of the conference championships and third consecutive victory in the event. The Mount Vernon, N.Y., native set a new BIG EAST record, posting a time of 51.92. Anderson's time beat out Liz Grow's (Notre Dame) mark of 52.05 in 2002. Diop secured bronze with a 53.56.

The quartet of Anderson, Chestnut, Diop and McKenzie dominated the best in the conference, securing the Red Storm's second straight 4x100-meter relay win with a time of 45.50. Anderson, Diop, McKenzie and Mandana Vouillemin secured the second win in three years for the Johnnies in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:39.30.

Vouillemin notched a personal best in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:03.32 to finish fifth, and Rushellee Jones earned eighth place in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.82, her best of the season.

In the field events, Esmeralda Reyes saved her best performance of the season for last in the javelin throw. Reyes tossed the javelin 43.03 meters to take bronze and add six points to the Red Storm's tally. Lasma Padedze grabbed sixth in the shot put with a season-best toss of 13.56 meters. In her final BIG EAST Championships, senior Amanda Belgrave set a new personal best in the triple jump with a leap of 11.72 meters to grab seventh. Antonia Frazier scored for the Johnnies with a fifth-place finish in the long jump. Berit Friedenbach cleared the 3.35-meter bar to set a new career mark in the pole vault.

In the distance track events, Claire Cushing set a new personal record in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:38.17. Mia Forster posted a season-best time of 37:07.30 in the 10k.