New York, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Track and Field team continued its 2023-24 campaign on Friday and Saturday at the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights Open within the friendly confines of the historic 168th Street Armory in New York City.
The Spartans faced off against athletes from several Division I, II and III institutions, including: American International, Central Connecticut State, East Stroudsburg, La Salle, Lehigh, Molloy, Monmouth, NJIT, NYU, Princeton, Quinnipiac, Rider, Rutgers, Sacred Heart, St. Peter's, Stony Brook, Temple, Vermont, Villanova, Wagner and West Chester (Pa.).
Headlining the outstanding performances for the Spartans in the two-day event were Emmanuel Mena Jimenez's first place finish in the Men's Weight Throw Championship with a toss of 19.16m (62'10.5") and Ciara Durcan, Emma Neil, Isabella Farino-Esposito, Zoe Merryman, Megan Murphy & Kristen Kennedy combining to take a second place finish in the Women's Distance Medley Relay, with a time of 13:27.07.
In addition, Adam Lenn placed third in the Shot Put with a throw of 13.50m (44'3.5"), while Jayden Bennermon finished fifth in the High Jump with a leap of 1.90m (6'2.75"). Nicole Gysin and Veronica Valentik placed eighth and ninth respectively in the Women's Pentathlon Event, which saw the duo do battle in the 60 Meter Hurdles, High Jump, Shot Put, Long Jump and 800 Meter Run.
STAC returns to action on Friday, February 9 at the Fasttrack Invitational, which will be contested at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Staten Island. Events are schedule to get underway beginning at noon.
Top 10 Finishers (By Event) at Rutgers University Scarlet Knights Open
Men's Events
Men's 4X200 Meter Relay: Jayden Bennermon, Leelan Maxwell, Jayden Vargas, Christan Watson, Prince Alvarado & Miles Fisher - 1:33.94 (5th Place)
Men's Weight Throw: Adam Lenn - 14.48m/47'6.25" (5th Place), Tyler Robinson - 14.38m/47'2.25" (7th Place)
Men's Weight Throw Championship: Emmanuel Mena Jimenez - 19.16m/62'10.5" (1st Place)
Men's High Jump: Jayden Bennermon - 1.90m/6'2.75" (5th Place)
Men's Shot Put: Adam Lenn - 13.50m/44'3.5" (3rd Place), Ethan Zweigbaum - 12.68m/41'7.25" (6th Place)
Men's Shot Put Championship: Emmanuel Mena Jimenez - 15.03m/49'3.75" (6th Place)
Women's Events
Women's Pentathlon Overall: Nicole Gysin (8th Place), Veronica Valentik (9th Place)
Women's Pentathlon 60 Meter Hurdles: Nicole Gysin - 10.11 (7th Place), Veronica Valentik - 12.03 (9th Place)
Women's Pentathlon High Jump: Veronica Valentik - 1.46m/4'9.5" (6th Place), Nicole Gysin - 1.46m/4'9.5" (6th Place)
Women's Pentathlon Shot Put: Veronica Valentik - 8.80m/28"10.5" (5th Place), Nicole Gysin - 7.98m/26'2.25" (8th Place)
Women's Pentathlon Long Jump: Nicole Gysin - 4.44m/14'6.75" (7th Place), Veronica Valentik - 4.11m/13'6.0" (9th Place)
Women's Pentathlon 800 Meter Run: Veronica Valentik - 2:58.26 (8th Place), Nicole Gysin -3:12.98 (9th Place)
Women's Distance Medley Relay: Ciara Durcan, Emma Neil, Isabella Farino-Esposito, Zoe Merryman, Megan Murphy & Kristen Kennedy - 13:27.07 (2nd Place)