Monroe Breaks Two School Records at UVA Challenge

Friday, April 22

Charlottesville, Va.

All Day

James Madison University

UVA Challenge

4/22/2016 8:44:00 PM | Track & Field

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Graduate student Amber Monroe broke her own school records in both the outdoor shot put and discus throw as a select few from the James Madison track & field team competed at the 2016 UVA Challenge on Friday.

Monroe began the day with the discus and dominated the field of 16 throwers, achieving a distance of 52.20 meters (171'3") to take first by nearly five meters more than the second-place finisher. The throw broke her previous school-record mark of 49.89 meters set at the 2016 Colonial Relays and once again easily qualified her for the 2016 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Outdoor Championships, which required a distance of at least 42.50 meters.

The Miami, Fla. native later competed in the shot put invitational competition, in which she reached a distance of 15.37 meters (50'5.25") to top her previous best throw of 15.21 meters, which she also set at the 2016 Colonial Relays.

Despite only competing for the Dukes for less than a season, Monroe now owns the school record in indoor shot put, outdoor shot put and outdoor discus throw, making her one of the most decorated throwers in program history.

Adding to James Madison's success on the day was the quartet of juniors Annie Johnson and Kennedy King, sophomore Aereale Scott and freshman Meredith Willis, who ran a 46.06 in the 4x100-meter relay. The time represents the third fastest in program history, marking the second season in a row that a 4x100-meter relay team cracked the JMU top-10 list for the event.

Freshman Olivia Viparina made her mark as well after running a 10:40.01 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to set a personal record. The time improved her previous best of 10:45.48 from the 2016 Colonial Relays and keeps her as the third-fastest time in program history.

UP NEXT
The student-athletes in Charlottesville will rejoin their teammates in Harrisonburg tomorrow when they will take on Navy, Robert Morris, Richmond and Marshall at the 2016 JMU Invitational. The meet is set to begin at 2 p.m. with a live broadcast scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m., courtesy of MadiZONE HD SportsNet presented by the JMU Alumni Association.

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