New York University's men and women's track & field teams hosted the NYU Division III Invitational on Friday, February 3, at the New Balance Track and Field Center at The Armory in Manhattan.
NYU honored 15 graduating student-athletes in a ceremony prior to the start of the event. Those honored included
Isre'al Conerly,
Jon Diaz,
Oliver Fideler,
Akayla Gayles,
Benjamin Haber,
Leah Haley,
Victor Lam,
Hannah Marin,
Kamden Martin,
Julian Memmo,
Grace Richardson,
Kamila Sanusi,
Nathalie Shoji,
Jaylyn Wagner, and
Mubeen Zainul.
Richardson took first place in the mile in her first outing on the track, running 5:07.88. Teammate
Katherine Cheng took seventh and recorded a personal best of 5:12.54.
"The pacing of the mile is different than that of the 5k or the 10k that I traditionally compete in," Richardson explained. "Going out with the field and controlling the pace was a key factor in my race strategy. This race was a good season opener and I'm looking forward to competing in Boston next weekend."
Conerly placed second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.80, while freshman teammate
Dasha Jackson scored a new personal best of 28.94. Jackson also recorded a personal record of 9.78 in the 60-meter hurdles placing sixth overall.
Freshman
Aminata Johnson placed seventh in the 800-meter run with a new personal-best 2:23.19. In the 3,000-meter run, both
Estelle Gladden and
Emily Castles recorded new personal records of 10:40.82 and 10:52.35, respectively.
On the men's end,
Isaac Tu won the long jump with a leap of 12.69 meters.
Jake Chang, Haber and
Sam Frank recorded personal bests in the mile, running times of 4:28.75, 4:33.64 and 4:41.29, respectively. Freshman
Jeffrey Chen placed first for the Violets, ninth overall (4:25.98).
Aidin Hasan finished fifth in the 3,000-meter run, recording a personal record of 8:37.49, while teammate
Brandon Meiner also recorded a personal best of 8:53.10 placing sixth overall.
Diaz placed third in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:54.95. Lam recorded a personal best in the 400-meter dash running 52.26, while freshman
Austin Cabanban scored a personal best 52.70.
On the field side of things,
Emma Grunnin record a new personal best of 9.91 meters in the shot put.
Matthew Oluwole placed second in the high jump, with a best mark of 1.93 meters.
"I think our athletes are starting to recognize our potential as a team," said Associate Head Coach
Michael Roberts. "Tonight, they showed a lot of heart and effort, things that will make us stronger as we move forward."
Both the men and women's track & field teams are back in action next weekend. On Friday, February 10, and Saturday, February 11, the Violets will compete at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational hosted by Boston University. On Saturday, the Violets will also be competing at the Gordon Kelly Invitational hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Big Apple Invitational held at Ocean Breeze Park Track and Field Athletic Center on Staten Island.
