Dukes Finish Fifth at Colonial Relays

Friday, April 5

Williamsburg, VA

James Madison University

Colonial Relays

Photo by: PrettySporty/Cheryl Treworgy

4/5/2019 9:26:00 PM | Track & Field

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – In the 54^th running of the Colonial Relays hosted by William & Mary, James Madison track & field put up four first-place finishes and finished fifth with 55 points.

DAY ONE
GOING FOR GOLD
Alexys Taylor took off in the first heat of the 100m dash and won the heat. Her speed would keep in her front of the nine heats enough to take first in the event and give the Dukes 10 points.

Matasha Martin won the long jump for the Dukes. In just her third time throwing the javelin for the Dukes, Megan Fry came out victorious with the furthest throw. She was then the third JMU student-athlete to take gold on the day.

Erica Jackson set a personal record 4:29.42 time in the 1500m race. She came in first in the race which gave the Dukes 10 points. Her record was also an ECAC Championship qualifying time. It is the second fastest time in the CAA this season.

TOP-8

Sidra Morris led the Dukes off in the field events taking on the hammer throw. She took fifth place and gave JMU five points with her throw.
Following Martin, Nicolette Serratore took third in the long jump while Tess Lee finished fourth.
Following her 3000m steeplechase win last weekend, Olivia Viparina came out strong this week and finished fourth in the event. She picked up five points for JMU with her finish.

QUOTING COACH MCCOWN
"This is the first meet of the outdoor season where our squad is all together and we performed well in all areas today. The distance group did an amazing job led by Erica Jackson's 1500 victory and Olivia Viparina's great steeplechase performance. In the throws Sidra Morris threw a season best and Megan Fry won the University Division in the Javelin. In the jumps, Matasha Martin was the top jumper of the University Division with Nicolette Serratore and Tess Lee finishing 3rd and 4th. Alexys Taylor won the 100m dash in her first open race of the outdoor season. Our goal as a program is to be competitive in all event areas and we did that today. Go Dukes!!"

DAY TWO
Sidra Morris started off the Dukes' day with a third-place finish in the shot put. Her finish added 6 points to JMU's score.

The 4x200m relay team took second in the race with a time of 1:38.90. The time is the 10^th fastest time in program history. JMU's DMR squad also came away with a second-place finish in the event. They were just over two seconds behind the first-place Bucknell squad.

Wrapping up the scoring for the Dukes' was Dominique Johnson in the discus. She was the leader after the first attempt and was able to get points for JMU as her throw put her in sixth.

QUOTING COACH MCCOWN
"The relays ran well today. The DMR's time was close to a top 10 performance and the 4 x 2 was another top 10 performance. The 2nd of the year. We had a large group of ladies, in many event areas, that competed very well this weekend. Go Dukes!"

CURRENT ECAC QUALIFIERS
JMU currently has two relays and five student-athletes in six events qualified for the ECAC Outdoor Championships.

UP NEXT
JMU will split next weekend (Friday, Apr. 12) with half of the team traveling to the Hurricane Alumni Invitational hosted by Miami (Fl.) and half of the team headed to Fairfax, Va. for the Mason Spring Invitational hosted by George Mason.