Dukes Turn In Strong Showing In Split-Squad Meets

Friday, February 12

Boston, Mass.

1:30 p.m.

James Madison University

David Hemery Valentine

2/12/2016 9:21:00 PM | Track & Field

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Multiple first-place finishes, personal records and Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) qualifiers highlighted strong showings at both Liberty University's Liberty Quad and Boston University's David Hemery Valentine Invitational for the James Madison track and field team on Friday.

Coming into the day with a personal record (PR) of 2:17.36 in the indoor 800-meter run from the 2014 Sykes & Sabock Challenge Cup, junior Carol Strock shaved almost three seconds off that time after finishing in 12:14.45 to place first at the Liberty Quad. She barely missed qualifying for the ECAC Indoor Championships, which has a qualifying time at 2:14.44 this season. Freshman Micaela Poggi also set a PR in the race, crossing the finish line with a time of 2:19.85.

Graduate student Amber Monroe nabbed a first-place finish of her own in the Liberty Quad's shot put, putting up a distance of 15.42 meters to beat the second-place competitor by more than a meter (14.24m). The throw marks the fourth straight meet that Monroe has put up an ECAC-qualifying mark.

Looking north to Boston, several Dukes stood out in a field of talented competitors.

In the last event of the day, sophomore Nora Raher kept the team's momentum going with a PR in the indoor 5,000-meter run, besting her previous personal record of 18:43.36 with a time of 17:16.83 while topping the ECAC qualfying mark of 17:28.24.

"The middle distance & distance group had very good day and it was almost a great one," said coach Dave Rinker. "I thought Nora had the race of the day with her huge PR and qualifying for ECAC's. It's nice to see all her hard work and diligence pay off."

Competing in the 200-meter dash, sophomore Kennedy King set a PR with a time of 25.24 seconds that ranks as the ninth fastest mark in program history for the event. Freshman Meredith Willis (25.32) and junior Abby Duncan (25.67) also recorded PRs in the race, just eclipsing their previous bests of 25.39 and 25.83, respectively.

The duo of senior Kathleen Stewart and freshman Olivia Viparina crossed the finish line of the 3,000-meter run in 9:46.71 and 9:54.98 to qualify both Dukes for the ECAC Indoor Championships and set personal records. Stewart now ranks 10th in program history in the indoor 3,000-meter run, passing Tracey Livengood's 9:47.82 set in 1998.

Sophomore Tyrah Burrow ran in the 400-meter dash and performed well, completing the race in 57.04 seconds to match the qualfying time needed for the ECAC Indoor Championships.

Also putting their stamp on the day were juniors Aereale Scott and Summer Walter, who each qualified the finals in the 60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles, respectively. Sophomores Madeleine McCarty (2:15.01) and Haley Mahn (2:15.88) nearly gave JMU two more ECAC qualifiers, but fell just short of the 2:14.44 qualifying mark.

The Dukes will make the trip down I-81 to Blacksburg, Va. next weekend where they will compete in the Virginia Tech Challenge on Friday, Feb. 19 and Saturday, Feb. 20.

FULL RESULTS
Complete results for the Liberty Quad can be found here with results for the David Hemery Valentine Invitational found here.

UP NEXT
The 2016 season marks the 10th straight year the Dukes have participated in the Virginia Tech Challenge, dating back to the 2006-07 season. Tyrah Burrow's time of 26.66 seconds in the 400-meter dash to earn a PR and a spot at the 2015 ECAC Indoor Championships was the highlight of last year's visit.