NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Monroe College women’s track and field team opened its indoor season at the brand new Ocean Breeze Track and Athletic Complex in Staten Island on Friday. The team competed in the Villanova Invitational and earned a 7th-place finish overall. Susan Ejore and Nokuthula Dlamini earned a pair of wins in their events.
Ejore, an All American during cross country season, picked up right where she left off by posting a winning mark of 2:53.98 in the 1000 Meter run, edging out all competitors across all three NCAA Divisions and earning a national qualification in the process. Not to be outdone, her fellow African, Dlamini, won the 3000 Meter race with a clocking of 9:58.00. The mark was good enough to set a new school record and catapulted the freshman into the national qualifiers.
The Strunkey twins also notched a pair of top-ten finishes on the day. In the 200 Meter sprint, Arianne Strunkey posted a fifth-place time of 25:10. The fifth-place finish trailed only one other college, Temple University. Her sister, Ariel crossed the tape in ninth place, with a time of 25.40. The siblings earned national qualifying times. Two other Mustangs competitors earned slots as national qualifiers as Denesha Ransome earned her spot with a 7.8 in the 60 meter dash, and Breaisha Morton posted a school-record, 9.04, in her 60 meter hurdles race. The final national qualifier of the day for Monroe was the 4X400 relay team of the Stunkey sisters, Tashay Roberts and Angel White. They marked a time of 4:00.95. Ciarra Moseley had a time of 1:00.25 in the 400 meter.
Finishing in the top 25 were J’renda Rivera (19th) and Tashay Robers (23rd) in the 800 Meter race. Rivera logged a time of 2:27.55 in the 800 meters, while Roberts finished in 2:30.16. The Monroe College women’s track and field team returns to action on Friday, January 15, when they compete at the Ramapo College Invitational. The event will take place at the Armory in Manhattan.