By Madeline Sattler, News Correspondent
The men’s and women’s track and field teams brought top finishes back to Huntington Avenue from meets in two different states last weekend, despite being down head coach Sherman Hart after his March 29 suspension.
The university suspended Hart indefinitely, to complete an “internal review of possible NCAA violations,” according to an official statement emailed to The News by Sports Information Director Mark Majewski.
Most athletes stayed local, competing in the George Davis Invitational at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell while 11 runners and fielders headed to Gainsville, Fla., for the Florida Relays.
“The George Davis Invite was excellent,” assistant coach Tramaine Shaw said. “We had a lot of really good marks, so that was really promising.”
The women were strong in field events with three athletes winning gold in Lowell. Junior vaulter Lauren Bennett soared over 3.35 meters in the pole vault for her first win of the season.
Junior jumper Nia Howard took the long jump win with a 5.70 meter leap while junior thrower Julia Westover launched the hammer 53.08 meters to win the event.
“It wasn’t as far as I wanted to throw,” Westover said. “But considering the cold, I think I did pretty well.”
Other top performances included a third place tie in the pole vault between junior Jillena Decarteret and freshman Dana Schweiger. Both athletes cleared 3.20 meters.
Junior thrower Rachel Taback placed second after Westover for the hammer throw in a field of 34 athletes with a throw of 52.28 meters.
Sophomore Olivia Stevens jumped 11.21 meters to earn bronze in the triple jump.
“We pretty much dominated the field events,” Westover said. “We’re doing a lot better than we were doing last year, so I’m happy about it.”
The women performed well on the track also, with Howard and freshman sprinter Victoria Alexander finished second and third respectively for the 100-meter dash. Howard crossed the line in 12.50 seconds while Alexander finished soon after in 12.56 seconds.
Senior middle distance runner Christina Gallagher captured bronze in the 800-meter run in a field of 56 athletes. The Massachusetts native finished in 2:17.47.
From the men’s team in Lowell, freshman sprinter Toju Omentoruwa and junior Stefano Combi medalled on the track for Northeastern. Omentoruwa placed third in the 400-meter dash crossing the line in 51.11 seconds. Combi earned his bronze by completing the 110-meter hurdles in 15.14 seconds.
Senior thrower Patrick Jablonski continued what has been a dominating season, topping 36 other athletes in the discus throw to win gold with a 48.63 meter toss. Jablonski’s 15.60 meter throw in the shot put placed him second.
“[My throw] was good enough to beat everyone who I was capable of beating,” Jablonski said. “But personally, I don’t think I performed on par with how I would like to be.”
Sophomore throwers Max Milder and Christopher Reider also took gold in their respective events as well. Milder won the hammer throw clearing 55.17 meters while Reider set a personal record in the javelin throw with a 59.59 meter pitch.
Jumpers senior Brian Racca and junior Tejorn Davis placed second and third respectively in the triple jump. Racca put together a 14.29 meter jump while his teammate finished just behind at 14.19 meters.
“Our field athletes are very deep,” Jablonski said. “We have a lot of talent, which we’re going to need at conferences.”
Northeastern was represented at an out-of-state meet in Gainsville, Fla., where six women and five men competed against some of the best college athletes from eastern seaboard and southern schools.
“Florida was just a cool experience because it was such a big track meet, so that was a lot of fun,” sophomore sprinter Alex Shapiro said.
Senior jumper Andrew Staples had the highest Northeastern finish at the meet, placing seventh in the long jump with a 7.10 meter leap. Freshman Jared Lane and sophomore Jackson MacDonald finished 49th and 53rd respectively in the 110-meter hurdles.
The men’s 4 by 200-meter quartet of Lane, MacDonald, Shapiro and senior sprinter Darius Velez combined to finish 22nd with a time of 1:27.55.
“We ran the second fastest time in school history which was pretty cool considering we were out in lane nine,” Shapiro said. “The outer lanes of the track are at a disadvantage in having to cross throw traffic coming out of the barrels.”
For the women, senior sprinter Saleen Abdur-Rashed crossed the line in 14.43 seconds for the 100-meter hurdles placing 28th. Junior jumper Georgia Pingue also performed well in the triple jump leaping to a 23rd place finish at 11.63 meters.
The 4 by 100-meter squad of Abdur-Rashed, senior sprinter Nia Howard, senior sprinter Sarah Trotman and freshman sprinter Monet Brathwaite combined for a time of 47.28 seconds which was good enough for 38th. Abdur-Rashed, Brathwaite, Trotman and freshman sprinter Victoria Alexander joined forces for the 4 by 200-meter relay placing 23rd with a 1:47.76 time.
“[The race] made them feel like they are ready for the upcoming conference championships and that they are headed in the right direction,” Shaw said.
The Huskies will welcome competitors to their home track this weekend for the Solomon Invitational.
“We’re really trying to compete as best we can at every meet,” Shapiro said. “We step up when it counts the most, so hopefully that bodes well for conferences.”
