Morris Tosses Pair of PRs at UVa, Dukes Close Weekend at Penn Relays

Thursday, April 27

Philadelphia, Pa.

James Madison University

Penn Relays

Morris Tosses Pair of PRs at UVa, Dukes Close Weekend at Penn Relays

4/29/2017 10:18:00 PM | Track & Field

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HARRISONBURG, Va. - Sophomore Sidra Morris turned in a pair of personal records, as James Madison track & field closed an action-packed weekend Saturday at both the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa., and the UVa Grand Prix in Charlottesville, Va.

At the UVa Grand Prix, Morris turned in her best single-meet performances in both the hammer throw and shot put.

She opened the day with a personal record in the hammer, with her top throw measuring 48.36 meters (158'8"), to rank third all-time at JMU. That mark was more than one meter further than her previous best (47.22 meters) and was good for a ninth-place finish in the event. Morris followed that up by producing the program's third-longest throw in the shot put with a personal-best toss of 13.64 meters (44'9"), which was .29 meters better than her seed PR and good for a sixth-place finish.

"She was on the verge of these personal bests all throughout the season," Head Track & Field Coach Cheree Hicks said of Morris. "She's been having really good practices and it culminated with her competition today. This was a culmination of all she's learned during the outdoor season, both good and bad."

Also competing with Morris in Charlottesville were senior Summer Walter and Nicolette Serratore. Walter won her heat and took eighth place overall in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.25 seconds — just .05 off her PR. Serratore competed in a pair of field events, as she was fifth in the javelin with a toss of 37.98 meters (124'7") while also participating in the shot put, turning in a top throw of 9.71 meters (31' 10.25").

The Dukes also wrapped up competition in Philadelphia at the 123rd annual Penn Relays, running in the Championship of America Invitational for the 4x200 relay at Franklin Field. The group, consisting of junior Aereale Scott, junior Tyrah Burrow, senior Kennedy King and freshman Alexys Taylor, completed the 800-meter race with a time of 1:37.17, good for seventh. It was also second all-time at JMU, trailing the program record the relay set in Friday's qualifying (1:36.19).

QUOTING COACH HICKS
"[Our recent meets] give our student-athletes some confidence and that's what we need at this point of the season, especially heading into the CAA Championships," Hicks said. "We're going to have our hands full with a lot of great teams within our conference. This was a good weekend to regroup and set our eyes on CAAs, since it's next week."

QUOTING COACH FRIAS
"Today was a short day to a long weekend [at Penn Relays]," Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Ta' Frias said. "We wanted to use the last race to sharpen and get ready for the competition next weekend. The women ran the second fastest time in school history today and we maintained a competitive mindset for three solid days to help prepare for the CAA Championships."

UP NEXT
The Dukes head to Newark, Del., for the 2017 CAA Track & Field Championships, which will be held May 5-6 at the University of Delaware.