STATEN ISLAND, NY– The Saint Peter's men's and women's track and field programs competed at the Metropolitan Championships Friday afternoon at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex. The men's team collected six total medals, highlighted by a gold-medal finish from freshman
Brian Yeager in the 800m, and placed fourth out of 14 institutions–the highest team finish in program history.
The women finished tenth overall, led by bronze-medal performances from
Samyah Wilson in the 200m and
Lourdes Lawson in the shot put.
On the men's side, Rowan claimed first with a team score of 185, followed by Monmouth (177) and Fordham (99). The women's title was earned by Monmouth with a team score of 180.5, with St. John's (174) in second, and Fordham (91.5) rounding out the top three.
MEN'S HIGHLIGHTS
The 400m dash was a fast race with the podium finishers being the only ones to go sub-50.
Cashieve Blair and
Favour Owolabi earned the Peacocks' first two medals of the day, placing second and third with times of 48.67 and 48.95, respectively. The duo slashed nearly three seconds off the team's previous season-best mark (51.05). Rowan's Dallas Hohney claimed gold in 48.19.
In a tightly contested 500m,
Ajani Peck-Wekunda secured silver, shaving over two seconds off his previous best with a time of 1:05.61. Rowan's Teddy Wilson took first in 1:05.30.
Michael Odins and
Connor Ziolkowski rounded out the top ten, finishing ninth (1:06.94) and 10th (1:07.34) in a field of 21 athletes.
Yeager delivered the Peacocks' lone gold medal of the meet, winning the 800m as the only runner to dip under 1:54. The freshman stopped the clock at 1:53.95, nearly two seconds faster than his previous personal best and the team's season-best time. His performance ranks third all-time in program history.
Sebastian Lopez recorded a fifth-place finish in the 3000m, stopping the clock at 9:05.93 and shaving .06 seconds off his own personal record. Manhattan's Adrian Alonso Canales won the event in 8:45.29, followed by Fordham's Daniel DiTunno (8:55.95). Rowan's Giancarlo Vega (8:58.50) and Sean Hice (9:02.31) placed third and fourth.
Amari Campbell claimed the lone medal for the men's field team, earning silver in the long jump with a mark of 7.21 meters–just .04 meters shy of his career best and .02 meters off his indoor personal record. Rowan's Anthony Parker won gold with a jump of 7.56 meters.
The men's 4x400 relay closed the day with another podium finish, as the quartet of Owolabi, Blair, Peck-Wekunda, and Yeager raced to a second-place time of 3:16.71. Rowan's A squad claimed first in 3:15.05.
WOMEN'S HIGHLIGHTS
Wilson secured the women's team's lone track medal, earning bronze in the 200m with a personal-best time of 25.86. Monmouth's Katiana Gilbert finished second in 25.38, while St. John's Jalen Jackson claimed gold in 24.88.
Karilynn Jimenez and
Shania McDuffie added top-10 finishes, with Jimenez placing sixth (25.97) and McDuffie 10th (26.26).
Freshman Lawson delivered the Peacocks' only field medal on the women's side, taking bronze in the shot put with a personal-best and team-best mark of 12.43 meters. Her performance ranks sixth all-time in program history. LIU's Sonjay Baylor-Reeves earned silver (12.94m), while Monmouth's Julie Thomas claimed gold (14.20m).
Ciara Brown finished 10th with a throw of 11.35 meters, and
Alyana Meador rounded out the field at 10.35 meters.
Kennedy Vaughn finished eighth in weight throw, hitting a career best with a mark of 13.81m. Monmouth's Maggie Hansen (17.33m) claimed gold, followed by Manhattan's Thea Dahl (16.53m), and LIU's Tianna Stewart (16.35m).
The 4x200 relay team of Wilson, Jimenez,
Angela Owusu-Ansah, and McDuffie narrowly missed the podium, placing fourth with a time of 1:44.69. Manhattan A won in 1:41.00, followed by Fordham (1:42.13) and St. John's (1:42.55).
UP NEXT
Saint Peter's will next compete at the ECAC/IC4A Championships, hosted by Boston University at the BU Track & Tennis Center, February 7-8.
For continuing coverage of Saint Peter's University Athletics, visit SaintPetersPeacocks.com and follow the Peacocks on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
