Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Virginia Challenge
Aganus Continues to Shine as Women's Track & Field Competes at Virginia & Bucknell
April 23, 2023 | Women's Track and Field
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - Army West Point women's track & field competed this past weekend at the Virginia Challenge hosted by the University of Virginia and the Bucknell Team Challenge hosted by Bucknell in Lewisburg, PA.
Virginia Challenge
Saydee Aganus wrote the headlines for Army again, breaking her own program record once again in the 100m hurdles, coming in with a time of 13.58, which was also good for second-place in the event.
In the track events, Laurynn Sisneros posted a sixth-place finish in the 5000m with a time of 17:09.79. Joanna Halfhill paced Army in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 10:49.19 which landed her in seventh-place for the event. Charlotte Richman then came in at 36:50.30 in the 10000m to lead Army and boast a 12th-place finish.
Highlighting the field events, the trio of Samantha Sheppard-Moore, Patricia Albornoz and Isabel Crandall each notched 3.53m pole vaults for seventh-place finishes in the event.
In the throwing events, Nicole Sacchinelli's 42.51m javelin throw led the way for the Black Knights with a seventh-place showing. Kayley Ragazzini logged an 11th-place finish in the hammer throw with a distance of 59.05m while Barbara Antwi landed in ninth in the shot put with a mark of 14.28m. In the discus throw, Karly Parcell (46.97m, 13th) and Sophia Dykstra (46.08m, 16th) paced the Black Knights.
Bucknell Team Challenge
Kiana Emerson (41.80m) and Olivia Hancock (41.64m) had a one-two finish in the discus throw for Army to set the tone in the throwing events. Emerson also won the hammer throw with an ECAC-qualifying mark of 53.01m.
Quinn Collins posted a victory for the Black Knights on the track in the 800m with a time of 2:14.21, while teammate Hannah Andrews followed in fourth-place with a 2:17.59. In the 3000m steeplechase, Claire Lewis (11:00.26) and Melissa Jachim (11:06.78) registered second and third-place finishes, respectively.
Moving to the 3000m, Sophia Sandy landed in the top-three with a time of 10:11.04 while Catherine McClellan was in the top-ten with her mark of 10:38.09. Thai Douglas had a time of 15.26 in the 100m hurdles to post a fourth-place result for Army.
Kalliauna Powers had a top-three showing in the long jump with her 5.40m mark, and landed in 17th in the 200m with a 27.31s time. Her triple jump of 10.83m saw her finish 14th as well.
FULL RESULTS
VIRGINIA | BUCKNELL
Coach's Corner
"Our throwers put up some strong marks on day 1 in Virginia. Barbara Antwi made some nice improvements in the hammer throw and reached a new personal best and Kayley Ragazzini improved another meter in the hammer throw and is edging closer and closer to the 60 meter club. Her best mark of 59.05 meters (193' 8") is a meter better than she was a week ago. She has improved in the hammer every weekend that she has thrown it. That is 5 consecutive meets.  She opened the season as a 54 meter hammer thrower and has put 5 meters on that initial throw over the course of those 5 weeks.  Her trajectory has been impressive. Â
Saydee Aganus did it again; 13.58 with a legal wind. New Academy record….again. I could leave it at that and say nothing else and let the time and the 2nd place finish and the record stand for itself without commentary…but I can't because she deserves more. The forecast for today was not optimal and a rain/lightening delay hit us at about noon. In looking at the forecast we were not confident that we would get to compete today but as luck would have it, the storm passed, the sky cleared and we got the meet in with only a 2 hour delay. A delay like that can wreak havoc on preparation for some events. Certainly there could be a psychological impact if not handled well. Saydee Aganus had completed her warm up for the hurdles and was preparing to head to the line when the delay hit. She faced the exact same situation last week and the meet ended up being cancelled. I read disappointment and frustration on her face as we sat down to an unknown future. We all hunkered down in the indoor football field on the UVA campus and waited it out and then Saydee re-started her warm up when we got the go ahead after a 2 hour delay. The conditions were pretty good at the start of her race with a slight tailwind and some sunshine with relatively warm temperatures. She has always had ability and has been a consistent performer for us since she arrived here but there is something different about her now. She seems much more confident and far more aggressive when the gun goes off. A year ago she was a solid short hurdler; consistent at 14 – 14.5 seconds. Now she is a full second better and competing to win at every meet that she enters. It is a remarkable ascension and one that is notable for the drop in time from one weekend to the next but more so for the improved speed and athleticism in the race. She has a commanding presence on the starting line and a powerful exit from the blocks at the sound of the gun. As she moves through the race she is technically sound over the hurdles and fast in between. Hers has been a compete transformation from average to great. She now ranks as one of the top hurdlers East of the Mississippi and I don't think she has reached her peak. There is more to come with her in the coming weeks. We had other successes this weekend. Small personal bests and improved positions on the conference lists. We are going to have a few people compete at the Penn Relays but the for the most part we are now all pointing toward the Patriot League meet in 2 weeks.Â
At Bucknell, we won the hammer throw and the women's 800 meter run. Kiana Emerson has steadily improved throughout the season and it was nice to see her get her first collegiate win and the new personal best (53.01m 173' 11") that came with it. She has been consistent for most of the year in throwing around 49-51 meters but had struggled to get much beyond that level. Today her series was much of the same and then on her last attempt everything clicked and she hit the winning mark. Her persistence and commitment paid off and it was a nice win for her. Quinn Collins took the title in the women's 800 in a slow tactical race. She took command after the first 400 and put down a strong last lap to win comfortably. She has battled consistency this spring but has been very consistent in practice so it was nice for her to experience the reward for the strong training she has put together so far this season." - Director of Track & Field Mike SmithUP NEXT
Army sill send runners ot the Penn Relays this upcoming in final preparation for the Patriot League Outdoor Championships.
Players Mentioned
