Stony Brook Track & Field competed in the Wolfie Invitational on Saturday, as both the men’s and women’s teams came in first in the meet.
“We asked everyone to come with a competitive attitude to this meet, and for the most part that is what we got,” head coach Andy Ronan said.
Among the day’s stellar performances was a school record-breaking 5-foot-8-inch high jump by junior Dana Husband, defeating a previous mark set by Sara Lechner 27 years ago. Husband now holds the program records for the high jump in both indoor and outdoor settings. Husband’s record-breaking day had some company, as sophomore Kaylyn Gordon reached the ECAC meet-qualifying standard with her winning performance in the women’s triple jump, leaping 39-feet, 10.5-inches.
Coming off a great weekend last week at the Ocean State Invitational, Gordon and the remainder of the women’s 4×100-meter relay team continued to shine, recording a winning time of 47.36 seconds. The young team of the Gordon and a trio of freshmen have already had a lot of success within their short careers. They set a school record last week in the event.
Ronan’s teams beat out the likes of Marist, Farmingdale State, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart, Fordham, St. John’s and Iona. The Seawolves coach seemed to be the most active coach on the field, often running to multiple checkpoints in each of the events to motivate and coach his distance athletes.
The Seawolves were undefeated in the 1,500-meters events, as senior Kate Pouder won the women’s 1,500 meters with a time of 4:34.97, and senior Gabriel Vazquez recorded a winning time of 4:00.12.
The results for women’s 100-meter race was full of Seawolves. Freshman Chinque Thompson led a pack of five Seawolves toward the finish line, clocking in a 12.04 seconds. The pack included two of her 4-x-100 meter relay teammates, with freshman Nikki Fogarty in second and Gordon placing fourth. Gordon also found herself behind two other Seawolves with a third-place finish in the long jump. Freshman McKyla Brooks took first in 18 feet, 10 inches.
The Seawolves distance runners performed very well this weekend, as the team took the men’s 3,000 meters and the top two spots in both the women’s and men’s 5,000-meters.
Sophomore Michael Watts shifted his impressive indoor season to an outdoor setting with his winning time of 8:38.97 in the men’s 3,000-meter event. Senior Mitchell Kun finished over 13 seconds ahead of his sophomore teammate Dan Galford in the men’s 5,000-meter event. Kun won in 15:05.84 and Galford placed second with a 15:19.58 time.
The women’s 5,000-meter event finished in a similar way, with senior Raven Dorsey placing first with a 18:01.99 time and senior Tara Peck placing second in 18:11.87. Sophomore Darien Sorouri had a winning performance in the men’s steeplechase with a 9:52.36 time.
The event was well-represented by the home team this weekend. With both the men’s and women’s title going to the Seawolves, the team has gained some important momentum as the team heads to the famed Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Thursday.
