Several Dukes Stand Out on Day Two of Kentucky Invitational

Friday, January 15

Lexington, Ky.

All Day

James Madison University

Kentucky Invitational

Several Dukes Stand Out on Day Two of Kentucky Invitational

1/16/2016 4:05:00 PM | Track & Field

LEXINGTON, Ky. - One school record, an Eastern College Athletic Confernence (ECAC) qualification and five personal records highlighted day two of the Kenucky Invitational for the James Madison track & field team on Saturday.

After the distance medley relay team set the tone on Friday night with an ECAC qualification of their own, senior Amber Monroe easily surpassed the qualifying mark of 13.50 meters with a distance of 15.45 meters to set a new school in the shot put. The previous record was held by Adrienne Alexander, who reached a distance of 13.94 meters, during the 2014 indoor season. According to the Track & Field Results Reporting System (TRFFS), Monroe's day now ranks 20th in the nation for the 2016 indoor season.

"As a team overall, we built upon last week and competed better in some areas against great competition," said head coach Chereé Hicks. "It was yet again a great learning opportunity for everyone as we head into a two week break from competition. During this time we can continue to build and prepare for the rest of the season."

Competing in only her second collegiate meet, freshman Nikki Serratore set two personal records (PR) on the day. After turning in a 9.32-second performance in the 60-meter hurdles at the Father Diamond Invitational last weekend, Serratore nudged past it for a time of 9.31 seconds in Saturday's preliminary round. The Lansdale, Pa., native also set a PR in the long jump with a distance of 5.12 meters after premiering at 4.94 meters at the Father Diamond Invitational.

Fellow freshman Laquell Harris improved on her previous shot put performance (11.35 meters) with a distance of 11.94 meters on Saturday afternoon.

Junior Nia Jones recorded a personal-best 11.18 meters in the indoor triple jump, surpassing her previous PR of 10.92 meters at the 2015 Sykes & Sabock Challenege (Indoor).

In the 3,000-meter run, JMU placed three runners in the top-20 with junior Tessa Mundell (fourth), sophomore Nora Raher (ninth) and freshman Olivia Viparina (17th). After setting a previous PR of 10:33.58 at the 2015 Patriot Games during the indoor season, Raher improved her time by 25.98 seconds at 10:07.60 on Saturday.

Running in the 400-meter dash, sophomore Charlie Bell rounded out the group of PR-setting Dukes with a time of 1:01.17, besting her previous mark of 1:01.63 from the indoor 2015 Liberty Quad.

With no meet on the docket next weekend, James Madison returns to action on Friday, Jan. 29 at the Thundering Herd Invite in Huntington, W.Va., which will extend into and conclude on Saturday, Jan. 30.

SEND-IT-BACK SATURDAY
In the 2015 Kentucky Invitational, then-sophomore De'Ana Forbes set a school record in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.56 seconds in her preliminary heat. Annie Johnson also turned in a successful day, recording a personal-best 25.58 seconds in the 200-meter dash.

UP NEXT
This will be the first season in which the Dukes compete in the Thundering Herd Invite. The Patriot Games, hosted by George Mason University, filled the weekend schedule in 2015.