Results
New York, N.Y. – The Long Island men's and women's track and field teams competed in the Great Dane Classic at the Armory on Friday night, where the men placed eighth and the women placed fifth in the team standings. The Blackbirds saw a number of impressive individual performances on both sides, including a new school record from junior Amire Solomon in the triple jump.
Solomon took the top spot in the event with a leap of 15.08 meters. The mark is not only a new school record, but it qualifies him for the IC4A meet and is the best mark in the Northeast Conference this season. Sophomore Wilmot Stubblefield also saw success in the triple jump, earning fifth place with a measure of 14.17 meters, a new personal best.
In the running events, sophomore Brian Richards raced to third place in the 200-meter dash with a time 21.81. The IC4A-qualifying time is good enough for the second best in the conference. Last week's NEC Track Athlete of the Week, senior Julius Mutekanga, grabbed another top NEC mark in the 800-meter run, clocking in at 1:51.56.
Junior Robert Barnes, senior Corryl Boyd, sophomore Kenneth Wallace Whitfield, and Mutekanga earned a spot in IC4A competition in the 4x400-meter relay, recording a 3:14.97. The quartet finished third place in the meet, but are the current conference leaders in the event.
The women's 4x400-meter relay also earned the right to postseason action, jumping to the number two spot on the NEC leader board. Junior Jazmin Waller, senior Christine Jones, junior Torrie Saunders and Kadisha Wickham garnered a fourth place finish with a time of 3:50.49.
Junior Jessie Gaines, Waller and Saunders currently hold the top three spots in the conference in the 60-meter hurdles after running an 8.54, 8.68, and 8.82, respectively. Gaines earned another top spot in the conference in the 60-meter dash, with a time of 7.67, while Waller earned a top spot in the 200-meter dash, recording a time of 24.9.
Senior Danay Spencer led LIU in the jumps, earning a personal best in the long jump with a leap of 5.48 meters. Spencer grabbed fifth place in the triple jump with a mark of 11.58 meters. Gaines took the top spot in the long jump, recording a mark of 5.7 meters, the best in the NEC this season.
The Blackbirds compete again on January 29 at the Metropolitan Championships at the Armory in New York, N.Y.