St. Thomas Aquinas College Track & Field Makes History At Penn Relays

St. Thomas Aquinas College Track & Field Makes History At Penn Relays
This past weekend the St. Thomas Aquinas College Track & Field teams made history at the 125th Penn Relays at the historic Franklin Field in Philadelphia, PA. The Spartans had never made a Collegiate Final at Penn Relays in the program's history, but during this trip to the City of Brotherly Love both Rickssen Opont and the Men's 4x100 Relay team earned their way to the final day of competition with stellar performances during the 3-day event. The Penn Relays brings together some of the top Division I, II, and III teams and athletes from across the country.
 
Rickssen Opont competed in the Shot Put, which had over fifty competitors from all over the country, and Opont finished in 8th place with a throw of 16.67m (54'8.25).  The 4x100 team of Jaren Scott, St. Jacob Diodonet, Jarrett Millien, and Dante Brown won their heat in the 4x100 with a time of 42.07, finished 25th overall out of 63 teams and also got into the Eastern Final of the Penn Relays 4x100 where they finished in 9th. Not to be outdone by the 4x100, the 4x200 team of Millien, Diodonet, Brown and Mich Philistin finished in 17th place, with a new school record time of 1:28.60.  The Spartans also kept their title in the CTC 4x400 with the team of Josh Mallard, Mich Philistin, Lugduni DesRosiers and Saint Jacob Diodonet who anchored in 46.41 with the team's time of 3:18.69, a new school record.  
 
The women's squad also took center stage at the relays. This was the first year the Spartans competed in the Shuttle Hurdle Relays, where Molly Conner, Duenya Alan, Desiree Bermudez and Ruby Pekin-Schlicht hit a new school record time of 1:06.79.  STAC also competed in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays, and were scheduled to participate in the SMR, but because of thunderstorms they were not able to compete in that event.  
 
The season continues for Rickssen Opont, Dante Brown and St. Jacob Diodonet, as they are prepare for two additional meets, working to solidify spots in the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field National Championships.