St. John's Track & Field Scores Six Event-Wins At Fordham Opener - ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

St. John's Track & Field Scores Six Event-Wins At Fordham Opener

Three individuals qualify for the BIG EAST Championships in mid-February.


	Junior Fayanne Francis.

Dec. 7, 2008

Complete Results

QUEENS, N.Y. - With six event-wins and three BIG EAST-qualifying performances, St. John's track & field started the 2008-09 indoor season on the right foot at the Fordham Invitational on Friday at Vincent T. Lombardi Center Fieldhouse.

St. John's finished first overall in the five-team dual meet with 159 points. In individual dual meets, St. John's defeated Fordham 66-48, Providence 45-24, FDU 66-48, Iona 51-30 and Stony Brook 53-31.

Junior Fayanne Francis, who sat out the 2008 outdoor season with injury, made a successful return to collegiate competition with a first-place, BIG EAST qualifying long jump distance of 5.53 meters (18 feet, 1.75 inches). The junior is the defending champion in this event at the Fordham Opener as she finished first last season with a distance of 5.47 meters (17 feet, 11.5 inches). Francis last competed in New York's Empire State Games this July, where she won the gold medal in the long jump open division.

Sophomore Priscilla Frederick placed first in her premier event, the high jump, marking her first BIG EAST qualifying height of the season. Frederick hit the 1.70 meter-mark (5 feet, 7 inches) to secure her spot at the BIG EAST Championships, which STJ will host at the Armory in mid-February.

Senior Marie Griffiths marked her first BIG EAST qualifying time in two years, placing fourth in the preliminaries of the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.8 seconds. The senior finished fifth in the finals, crossing the tape with a time of 8 seconds. Griffiths competed in jumping events only last season, with her primary events being the long and triple jump.

The Red Storm had a tremendous showing in the 400-meter dash, finishing seven athletes in the top-10. Sophomore Lauren Wynter placed first with a time 59.6 seconds, with junior Asia Davy and sophomore Kim Piard close at her heels finishing second and third at 1:00.00. Sophomore Rene Cousins sprinting with junior Asia Nettles and senior Phobay Kutu-Akoi placed fifth through seventh at 1:00.7, 1:00.8 and 1:01.2, respectively. Senior Paula Rennalls ran a ninth-place time of 1:02.5.

Freshman Chanel King competing in her second meet of the week placed first in the weight throw with a distance of 12.92 meters (42 feet, 4.75 inches). King was also runner-up in the shot put, with a distance of 12.19 meters (39 feet, 11.5 inches). Fordham's Tara O'Connor placed first with a distance of 12.42 meters (40 feet, 9 inches). Frederick also competed in the shot put, finishing fourth with a throw of 11.05 meters (36 feet, 3 inches), her career-best in the event. Fellow sophomore Courtney Kolinsky also set a new career-best in the shot put with a seventh-place throw of 8.72 meters (28 feet, 7.5"). Junior Brianna Drexler also competed, testing her throwing skills for the second time this week with an eighth-place throw of 7.00 meters (22 feet, 7.25 inches).

Both relay teams also finished first. In the 3,200-meter relay, St. John's finished first and second, using its experienced runners from cross country season to mark times of 9:42.3 and 10:05.8. In the 1,600-meter relay, the Red Storm's 400-meter sprinters finished first, third and eighth with times of 4:03.1, 4:08.4 and 4:17.0.

In the 60-meter high hurdles, sophomore Vanessa Thompson, crossed the tape third with a time of 9.3 seconds. Drexler, competing in her third event of the day, came in sixth with a time of 10.3 seconds.

In the mile, senior Tyneka Greene finished third with a time of 5:13.6, followed by freshman Aryon Trujillo, sophomore Sarah Sudbury and freshman Nicole Cocozza who finished eighth, ninth and tenth with times of 5:25.1, 5:25.6 and 5:56.2, respectively.

Junior Pamela Petruski's time of 2:22.4 placed her third in the 800-meter dash, with sophomore Shakira Best finishing fourth at 2:25.1.

Senior Rakibat Abiola was runner-up in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 3:19.6.

Sophomore Shavone Williams placed third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 27.1 seconds.

Finally, in the 3K event, sophomores Lori Dougherty and Katrina Schaefer finished 11th and 12th, with times of 11:39.8 and 11:43.8.

The Red Storm will have an extended break until 2009, when the team returns to action at the Yale Invitational on Jan. 10 in New Haven, Conn.