Dukes Make Strong Showing In Split-Squad Meets

Saturday, April 9

Fairfax, Va.

10 a.m.

James Madison University

Mason Spring Invitational

4/9/2016 7:46:00 PM | Track & Field

HARRISONBURG, Va. - With part of the team competing at the George Mason Spring Invitational and others at the University of Virginia's Lou Onesty Invitational, James Madison track & field produced several strong finishes in the split-squad meets on Saturday.

Junior Tessa Mundell had the day's premier performance, placing first out of 11 runners in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:09.82 at Mason. The time moves Mundell into eighth in JMU program history, right behind Kelly Jemison's mark of 11:01.89 from the 2008 season.

Also taking first in her event in Fairfax was graduate student Amber Monroe, who topped the 22-athlete field in the shot put with a distance of 14.90 meters (48'10.75"). The Miami, Fla. native also earned second in the discus throw with a distance of 48.95 meters (160'7"), while freshman teammate Dominique Johnson took fourth thanks to a throw of 41.00 meters (134'6").

In the 800-meter run, junior Carol Strock crossed the finish line with a time of 2:14.79 to place fourth out of 52 runners. The trio of senior Kathleen Stewart (4:40.49), freshman Erica Jackson (4:45.37) and freshman Olivia Viparina (4:45.37) placed fourth, ninth and 10th respectively in the 1,500-meter run.

Giving the Dukes a pair of first-place finishers in Charlottesville were junior Kennedy King and sophomore Tyrah Burrow.

Burrow ran a 56.12 in the 400-meter dash to top the field of 11 runners, and King leapt 5.94 meters (19'6") to place first out of 19 athletes in the long jump. Junior Ebony Owusu-Sampah joined King in the top four of the long jump standings with a jump of 5.74 meters (18'10"). Burrow also took fifth out of 27 in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.06.

Sophomore Gina Bischof kept things rolling at the Lou Onesty Invitational with a second-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles thanks to a time of 1:05.28. Freshman Meredith Willis ran a 24.85 to take third in the 200-meter run.

Carrying over the success in relays that the Dukes displayed at last week's William & Mary-hosted Colonial Relays, the quartet of sophomore Aereale Scott, junior Annie Johnson, Willis and King ran a 47.79 in the 4x100-meter relay to place second and secure an Eastern Conference Athletic Association (ECAC) Outdoor Championships qualifying mark.

Rounding out the list of impressive performances on the day was Johnson (12.12 seconds) and junior Abby Duncan (12.34 seconds) in the 100-meter dash where they finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will have time to rest this upcoming weekend before they host their only home meet of the 2015-16 season with the JMU Invitational on Saturday, April 23. All the information you'll need about the meet, including a tentative schedule and directions to University Park, can be found here.

QUOTING COACH DAVE RINKER
"Our goal going in was to focus on competing and not worry about times or the bad weather. I thought the team did a very good job of reaching those goals. Between the 25 miles per hour winds and the low temperatures, the conditions were just plain miserable, but it was a good day overall and a good memory for each of them."

TWEET OF THE DAY

All the Dukes are on the road today. Good luck to @JMUBaseball, @JMU_Softball, @JMUTrackField, and @JMUMGolf as they compete! #GoDukes
— JMU Duke Club (@JMUDukeClub) April 9, 2016