Solid Performances from JMU at Miami & George Mason

Friday, April 12

Coral Gables, Fla.

James Madison University

Hurricane Alumni Invitational

Photo by: PrettySporty/Cheryl Treworgy

4/12/2019 6:29:00 PM | Track & Field

Hurricane Alumni Invitational Results Mason Spring Invitational Results

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison track and field put up solid performances adding four more ECAC qualifiers and three updates to the JMU top-10 performance lists at the Hurricane Alumni Invitational and Mason Spring Invitational.

DAY ONE – Hurricane Alumni Invitational
Serratore took part in her second heptathlon of the season. She started off in 10^th place with the opening event of the 100m hurdles. She jumped up to sixth place as she tied her high jump personal best mark of 1.60m. In the shot put, she was able to move up to third place. Serratore set a personal best time in the 200m dash and through four events would sit in ninth place.

Morris had a strong week of practice in the hammer throw as she prepped for the Miami Invitational. In her second toss of the event, Morris let it fly and recorded a new JMU school record 52.40m (171'11") mark. Her throw is an ECAC qualifier and stands as the third farthest throw in the CAA this season.

QUOTING COACH MCCOWN
"Today was a really good day for both Nicolette and Sidra. They both achieved personal bests today. Sidra had a huge PR in the hammer throw. She competed very well in a tough competition and congratulations to her for breaking her own school record. Nicolette goes into tomorrow with a score that is ahead of where she was after day one in San Antonio. Go Dukes!"

DAY TWO – Hurricane Alumni Invitational
In the opening event of day two of the heptathlon, Serratore bumped back up to fifth place overall with a fifth-place finish in the long jump. The senior heptathlete continued to move up following the javelin throw. She recorded an impressive mark of 44.37m (145'7") which was the furthest in the event by almost nine meters. She then finished fifth in the 800m run and that gave her enough points to bump up to third. Serratore finished third with 4826 points, just shy of her personal best.

Anoush Stamm set a new personal best in the 400m dash. The freshman already qualified for the ECAC Championship and bettered her time to 56.07, which is the fourth fastest time in the CAA this season.

Alexys Taylor took part in her second 100m dash of the season and qualified for the ECAC Championship. She qualified with a time of 11.94.

Dominique Johnson put up a big personal best mark in the discus with her 52.38m (171'10") mark. Her throw is the furthest in the CAA this season and is 15^th on the NCAA East Preliminary list.

In the triple jump, Jantsen Wilson set a new personal best 11.75m (38'6 ¾"). Her jump is now 10th on the JMU all-time list and is the fourth best mark in the CAA this season. She is the first jumper to make her way into the top-10 since 2014.

The ECAC qualifiers continued to come in as Meredith Willis qualified in the 200m dash with a time of 24.51. Her time is the fourth fastest in the CAA this season.

Wrapping up the Hurricane Alumni Invitational was Morris in the shot put. Following her performance on the first day breaking her own school record, she qualified for the ECAC Championship in the shot put. Her 14.41m throw is the fourth-farthest throw in the CAA this season.

MASON SPRING INVITATIONAL
Lauren Smith got the Dukes started in the 100m dash at the Mason Spring Invitational. She started off with a new personal best in the event.

Erica Jackson had a strong race in the 800m. She qualified for the ECAC Championship with her 2:09.36 time. Her time also now stands as fourth fastest in JMU history and is the first runner to break into the top-10 in the event since 2015. Her time is also the second fastest in the CAA this season.

Jamie Richards finished sixth in the discus throw tossing it a personal best 39.62m (130'). Her toss is just off the Dukes Top-10 performance list in the event.

Olivia Viparina came out strong in her first 1500m race of the season. She set a personal best time of 4:35.29 which landed her in seventh place in the event. Viparina was just shy of qualifying for the ECAC Championship.

Closing out the day strong was senior Erin Saunders in the 5000m race. She finished third in the race for the seventh time in her career finishing in the top-3 in the 5000m.

QUOTING COACH MCCOWN
"Wow! What a day for the Dukes! So proud of all the good performances today in Miami and at George Mason. Personal bests by Anoush, Jamie, Dominique, Erica, Averi, Tess and Olivia today. It's awesome to add more ECAC qualifiers with Sidra, Lexi, Meredith and Erica. Congratulations to Jantsen for making it into the Top 10 list in the triple jump and for Erica moving up the list in the 800. Dominique's throw was a huge PR and moves her up the NCAA first round list significantly. Go Dukes!"

ECAC QUALIFIERS
The Dukes currently have eight student-athletes qualified for 10 events and two relays qualified for the ECAC Championships. The qualified JMU student-athletes and relays are:

Jackson: 800m
Johnson: Shot put & Discus
Morris: Hammer & Shot put
Serratore: Javelin
Stamm: 400m
Taylor: 100m
Viparina: 3000m steeplechase
Willis: 200m
4x100m Relay
4x200m Relay

UP NEXT
The Dukes host their annual JMU Invitational at Sentara Park on Saturday, Apr. 20 beginning at 11 a.m. Another group will head to Charlottesville, Virginia for the Virginia Challenge on Friday, Apr. 19 and Saturday, Apr. 20.