The men’s and women’s track and field team traveled to Princeton University, N.J., to compete in the Larry Ellis Invitational with an array of Division I teams.
Graduate student David Thomas won the long jump with an NCAA provisional qualifying leap of 7.26 meters and was the top collegiate finisher in a pair of sprints to the lead the men.
On the track, Thomas placed second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.71 seconds and finished second in the 200-meter dash with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 21.44 seconds.
The Chargers also got strong performances in the hurdles from freshman Taylor DenBleyker, who improved to sixth in the NE-10 with a time of 57.33 in the 400-meter hurdles and raised his standing to ninth in the conference with a time of 16.03 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles.
The women’s team recorded five top-10 finishes at the meet.
Sophomore Ada Udaya led the way with a victory in the 100-meter dash, with a time of 11.89 seconds. Udaya was the lone sprinter to break the tape in less than 12 seconds, and attained a NCAA Division II provisional qualifying standard with her time.
Freshman Marshae Holt logged a personal best in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.46 seconds.
Udaya was also a member of the 4×100-meter relay team, running the second leg alongside sophomore Briana Conyers, senior Alissa Howell and Holt. The foursome ran the fastest time to date in the NE-10 this spring with a sixth-place finish at 47.78 seconds.
In the 100-meter hurdles, junior Monica Yanez earned a fifth-fastest time by a NE-10 student-athlete this season at 15.04 seconds.
Conyers led the way in the field, placing second in the triple jump with a distance of 12.03 meters to meet the NCAA provisional qualifying mark, topping 14 Division I opponents.
On Friday, April 19, thrower Shraya Manick (senior) started the action with a pair of top-10 finishes. Manick placed sixth in the discus with a throw of 41.27 meters, as the top Division II competitor. She also placed 10th in the hammer throw, placing second among Division II student-athletes and topping 11 Division I throwers with a distance of 49.63 meters. Her performance in the discus was the best in the NE-10 this outdoor season and her throw in the hammer was the conference’s second-longest heave of the spring.
The Chargers will compete at two Ivy League institutions next weekend, traveling to Philadelphia for the Penn Relays on Saturday, April 27, and West Haven on Sunday, April 28, for the Yale Springtime Invitational.
