NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Monroe College Women’s Track & Field team opened its indoor season this past weekend with a ninth-place showing at the Towson Invitational at the Armory in New York and five runners qualified for nationals.
Zakiya Denoon earned the first spot at nationals with a second-place time of 7.45 in the 60-meter dash. She won her preliminary heat prior to her podium finish.
Ariel Strunkey clocked a mark of 25.16 in the 200-meter dash, good for eighth place overall and a qualifying spot for nationals. Joining her as a nationals-qualifier is Tashay Roberts, who earned the position with a tenth-place run in the 1000 meters, logging a time of 3:12.95.
Sophomore Nokuthula Dlamini earned a pair of top-ten finishes and made nationals in both the one mile and 3000 meter runs. She logged times of 5:14.06 and 10:25.80, respectively, in those races. Tristan Evelyn won the 60-meter hurdles with a national-qualifying mark of 8.64. Finally, in the field events, Nijera Manuel came in eighth in the weight throw with a distance of 13.70 meters.
The Monroe College Women’s Track & Field team returns to action on Friday, January 20, when they compete in the Gotham Cup.