NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The culmination of an already strong indoor track and field season for the Monroe College women’s track and field team came to an impressive denouement over the weekend with a third place finish, out of thirty teams. The Mustangs also produced six national champions during competition.
Before the events got underway, it was already a winning weekend as Head Coach Lesleigh Hogg (Atlantic Region Coach of the Year), Assistant Coach Shirvon Greene (Atlantic Region Assistant Coach of the Year), freshman Susan Ejore (Atlantic Region Track Athlete of the Year) and Breaisha Morton (Atlantic Region Field Athlete of the Year) all earned national awards from the USTFCCCA (United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association).
The Mustangs started quickly on Friday, picking up several impressive performances. The distance medley team of Nokuthula Dlamini, J’renda Rivera, Tashay Roberts and Susan Ejore won the first national title with a time of 11:58.54. Dlamini, a freshman from South Africa, turned in the most impressive performance of the day, running in the relay, then shortly thereafter earned a pair of bronze medals in the 5000 meter (18:08.62) and in the 3000 meters (10:09.19).
The main event for Monroe came on Saturday, when picked up five more national titles. Ejore, whom a day earlier anchored the winning distance medley team, won another national title in the mile with a time of 4:58.97. In that race, she bested archrival, Leanna Pompeani of Iowa Central, by nearly six seconds. It was Pompeani who edged her out in the national title run during the cross country season.
Ejore’s second national championship came in the 1000 meter run. The Kenyan not only won convincingly, but her time of 2:50.35, was both a new school record and a personal best.
Standout sprinter Zakiya Denoon equaled Ejore’s impressive performances with a pair of gold medals of her own. Denoon and Tristan Evelyn finished first and second in the 60 meter dash, with the winning time being 7.42, and Evelyn crossing the line in 7.45. Denoon added a second victory in the 200 meter dash with a blisteringly fast time of 24.09.
In the field events, Breaisha Morton gave a pair of bijoux performances that earned her three top five finishes, one national title and an overall performance that underscored why she earned the Field Athlete of the Year from the USTFCCCA earlier in the week. In the high jump, she cleared a height of 1.71 meters in her first attempt, besting a field of the nation’s top leapers. Her second top-five finish came in the 60 meter hurdles, where her time of 8.50 put her fourth. She was also fifth in the triple jump with a leap of 11.95 meters.
The third-place finish for Monroe was clinched by the 1600 meter relay team of Rivera, Morton, Roberts and Denoon. They placed sixth overall and earned All American honors. Denesha Ransome, Angel White and Ksenia Safonova all had top 25 placings in their events as well.
The women’s track and field team will open it’s outdoor season in March, looking to build upon the impressive performances it has put up so far.