Track and Field Continues Preparations For PL Championships

Thursday, April 21

Charlottesville, VA

Army West Point

Virginia Challenge

Track and Field Continues Preparations For PL Championships

April 24, 2022 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Bucknell Team Challenge Virginia Challenge

Army West Point split its men's and women's outdoor track and field teams to compete in two meets over the weekend. The Black Knights competed at the highly-competitive Virginia Challenge hosted by the University of Virginia and at the Bucknell Team Challenge.

MEET	Bucknell Team Challenge
RESULTS	Men – 5^th out of 10 Women – 3^rd out of 10
LOCATION	Bucknell University

Event Winners
Women
1500m – Evie Bell (4:42.46)
3000m steeplechase – Melissa Jachim (10:54.61) – ECAC
Pole vault – Isabel Crandall (3.55m)
Discus – Barbara Antwi (44.02m) E
Hammer – Emily Mikoud (63.02m) Facility record

Men
1500m – Jeremiah Rasmussen (3:50.39) ICA4

Other Notables
800 m – Quinn Collins (third)
3000m – Thorin Jean (third)
3000m Steeplechase – Halfhill
Pole vault – Samantha Sheppard-Moore
Shot put – Antwi Barbara (second)
High jump - Talon Estes (second) and Jacob Hyatt (third)
3000m Steeplechase – Isaac Morris (second)
Third-place finishes for Caden Smith (800m), Brian Matthews (400m) and Nicholas Amoroso (400m hurdles)
Shot put – Luke Noonan fourth

MEET	Virginia Challenge
RESULTS	NTS
LOCATION	University of Virginia

Notable performances
Anna Tovkach finished ninth in the 800m with an ECAC qualifying time of 2:06.48.
Saydee Aganus ran the 100 hurdles in 14.22 which is the third-fastest time in program history. It is also an ECAC qualifying time.
Isabella Palchak placed third in the high jump (1.66m) and Nataleigh Cantu was eighth (1.61m).
Emily Fink (15.14), Aysia Salas (14.86), and Kayley Ragazzini (14.10) all posted ECAC marks in the shot put. Fink finished sixth, Salas 10^th and Ragazzini 17^th.
Sophia Dykstra placed fifth in the discus with an ECAC qualifying mark of 48.59m.
Abigail Green finished third in the hammer throw (60.80m) which is the fourth-best mark in the ECAC. She also had an ECAC qualifying mark in the discus (43.71m).
Nicole Sacchinelli had a ninth-place finish in the javelin (44.09).
Jamir Gibson once again led the way for the Black Knights in the throwing events. He placed third in the shot put (19.09) and second in the discus (57.86m) which both are third on the ECAC list.
Kevin Sembrat finished 13^th with an ECAC qualifying time of 48.17 in the 400m.
Thomas Vo placed second in the 3000 steeplechase with a time of 9:06.84. His time is 25^th on the ECAC/IC4A list.
Jon Redmond led the way in the 100m (10.82) and 200m (21.85).
Justin Young finished seventh in the 110 hurdles (14.22).

COACH'S CORNER
"We split our team for the second straight weekend. As we close in on the conference championship we are trying to create as many opportunities as possible for our team to compete. In Virginia, we experienced the first real heat of the season. Temperatures were in the 80s and there was abundant sunshine. The speed/power events were contested in the heat of the day and the distance races were pushed to the evening to take advantage of the cooler temperatures.

As it turned out, the competition at this meet was the best we have faced all year. The teams competing included several schools from the ACC, Big Ten, and Big East so it was a pretty competitive two days.   We didn't win any events but we had a few outstanding marks and most of our people were forced to perform under pressure. The other half of our team competed at the Bucknell Team Challenge against a variety of Patriot League and regional schools. We had several wins at the Bucknell meet and several outstanding performances at the Virginia Challenge.

The best performance of the day came from Jamir Gibson in the shot put. He has led our team all year and remains our best performer across all events. His level of consistency and his alpha performances week in and week out have set the standard of excellence for our program. He has largely dominated the discus and had a good series in Virginia on Friday but on Saturday he took a big step forward in the shot put in finishing in third place.   His 19.10m (62' 7") came on his sixth and final throw and elicited a big reaction from the crowd. It looked like he might have surged to the lead with that throw but it came up short. He now owns the number 2 mark all-time in the shot and the number discuss throw all-time at the Academy. As we get closer to the postseason meets, we might see some bigger throws from him. Saydee Aganus was the other top 10 performer as she moved to number 3 all-time with her 14.22 mark.

At Bucknell, we won a few events but the clear the top performer was Emily Mikoud in the hammer throw. Her 63-meter-winning throw in Lewisburg is the second-best mark that she has ever put up. If she can build off what she did today and maintain that level of consistency, she will have a good chance to continue her season into late May and possibly June.

Our season continues this week at home on Thursday as we line up a select group at the West Point Twilight meet. This will also be the last opportunity for the seniors to compete at home. It will also serve as our tune-up for the conference championship which is the following weekend." – Mike Smith

UP NEXT
Army wraps up its home schedule with the West Point Twilight on Thursday, April 28.

For complete coverage of Army West Point cross country and track and field, follow the Black Knights on Twitter (ArmyWP_TrackXC) and Instagram (goarmytrack) and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.