By: Katie Zigelman, News Staff
Both of Northeastern’s track and field teams finished first in the Boston Indoor Games Friday, with junior long jumper Nia Howard writing herself into the school record books and freshman Eric Jenkins running a 4:11.90 mile to lead the men.
The men’s team beat 16 competitors with 118.50 points. The second place finisher, UMass Amherst, earned just 69.
The women’s team, which also came out ahead of 16 opponents, outscored second-place Brown by four points and Boston College by 25. Sherman Hart, head coach for both teams, said he was proud of his teams’ accomplishments at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center.
“I think that everyone did a tremendous job,” Hart said. “We had a solid team performance overall this weekend which is really what we needed.”
In the women’s first team event of the season, Howard jumped the fourth-best jump in school history with her first-place long jump performance of 19 feet, six inches. Her 7.18 time in the 55-meter dash also earned her a first place title.
“[Winning] felt good, real good,” Howard said. “Everyone was extremely supportive, not just the athletes, but the students and coaches too.”
Howard was not the only standout from this weekend. Junior Saleena Abdur-Rashed’s first and second place finishes were also memorable, as she won the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.08 and finished second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.52.
Senior Althea Charles was the team’s final first-place finisher. She won the weight throw with a distance of 55 feet, 6.25 inches.
The 4×400 relay team and Jillena DeCarteret both finished second in their events. DeCarteret, who pole vaulted 12 feet, four inches, beat the school record for the best mark in her career.
Jenkins earned the initial first-place title for the men’s team with his 4:11.90 mile, simultaneously qualifying himself for the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A) Indoor Track and Field Championship Meet in March.
Freshman Kaylin Miranda, along with senior Andrew Staples and freshman Kemardo Tyrell, earned Northeastern the top-three finishing spots for the long jump.
We’ve been dominating the long jump the whole year,” Miranda said. “The best part of the season has just been improving so much from last year and being successful in D1. I’ve [beat my personal record] twice already.”
Miranda, a transfer student from Division 3 UMass Dartmouth, is competing at the Division 1 level for the first time.
The men’s team had a total of five second-place finishes, one of which was in the distance relay. Senior Jonathon Hall finished second in the 500-meter with a time of 1:04.84, junior Evan Whetsell came in second for the 800-meter race with a time of 1:53.23, and senior Alex Ianneta ended up second in the weight throw.With 36 percent of the 106 track and field athletes being freshmen, Hart has taken note of his team’s young age.
“This is one of the youngest teams I have had here at Northeastern and we are still developing, but I am happy with the progress we’re making,” Hart said. “We are going to continue doing the same thing we’ve been doing in the future and get stronger.”
Both teams will compete again tomorrow at noon in the Battle of Beantown in Cambridge.
