Track & Field Places First at Marshall Classic

Saturday, January 14

Huntington, W.Va.

10 A.M.

James Madison University

Marshall Classic

Alex Kwasnik vs. Virginia Challenge 2022

1/14/2023 10:47:00 PM | Track & Field

HUNTINGTON, W. Va. – James Madison won five event titles (400m dash, mile, 4x400m relay, high jump, and triple jump) and earned 193 points to edge second-place host Marshall with 192. Ohio (133 points) took third, followed by Wright State (27), Charleston (W.Va.) (17), and Cleveland State (10).

Additionally, three Dukes posted top-10 program marks at the meet. Senior Alex Kwasnik reached 1.67m in the high jump to tie classmate Bethany Biggi at seventh in the JMU record book. Sophomore Jaiden Martellucci produced a weight throw mark of 15.19m, the eighth-best mark in school history. Meanwhile, Junior Miranda Stanhope moved to ninth on the program's mile list with a time of 4:53.29.

How It Happened

Freshman Asia Powell earned silver in the 60m dash with a time of 7.73, while sophomores Kaia Putman (7.82) and Virginia Keys (7.88 - PR) placed fifth and sixth, respectively.
Keys also earned a sixth-place finish in the 200m dash with a 26.22 clip.
The Dukes dominated the 400m dash with a 1-4 finish led by sophomore Sofia Lavreshina with a time of 56.64. Classmate Holly Mpassy was runner-up in 56.71, followed by freshman Kadence Wilson (57.99) and Ariana Eberly (58.92).
Senior Sinead Sargeant took fourth in the 600m race (1:38.66), followed closely behind by junior Mary Milby (1:40.06 - PR) in fifth.
Senior Clare Morelli registered a personal-best time of 2:20.29 for bronze in the 800m competition, while freshman Faithe Ketchum (2:21.35) placed fourth, and sophomore Sofia Terenziani (2:21.43) finished sixth.
Stanhope won the mile race in 4:53.29 – one of just four runners to go under five minutes.
Sophomore Jordyn Henderson finished second in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.75, followed by seniors Tiana Lewis (9.06 - PR) in fourth and Erin Babashak in fifth (9.40), and freshman Jenna Callan (9.42) in sixth.
The 4x400m relay team of Lavreshina, Powell, Wilson, and Eberly clocked in at 3:55.12 for first place.
Senior Alex Kwasnik kicked off her indoor season with a victory in the high jump with a mark of 1.67m. Freshman Gracen King (1.59m) took fourth, while senior Bethany Biggi (1.59m) finished in fifth.
In the pole vault competition, junior Erica Moolman cleared 3.60m for third, followed by senior Rachel Lloyd (3.45m) in fourth.
Callan also finished runner-up in the long jump with a leap of 5.40m, while Babashak (5.39m) earned bronze, junior Maya Gary (5.11m - PR) took fifth, and Wilson placed sixth (5.10m)
Senior Skyla Davidson captured first in the triple jump at 12.14, followed by junior Jordan Venning who produced a career-best bound of 11.98m for second.
Elsewhere in the field, Martellucci placed fourth in the weight throw with a personal-best effort of 15.19m. Meanwhile, senior Jenae Bowers placed fourth in the shot put (12.20m).

Quoting Head Coach Delethea Quarles
"Our team's GPA of 3.4 gave us a good start to our indoor season. We had many positive performances on the oval and the field opened to open the new year. It was a good start to build on in the coming weeks."

Up Next
The Dukes will be back in action next Saturday at Virginia Wesleyan's Blue Marlin Invitational in Virginia Beach, Va. Action kicks off at 9 a.m. inside the Virginia Beach Sports Center.