Dukes Open Season at Liberty Kickoff

Friday, December 1

Lynchburg, Va.

9 a.m.

James Madison University

Liberty Kickoff

12/1/2023 9:15:00 PM | Track & Field

LYNCHBURG, Va. – James Madison track & field won a pair of event titles and had four top-three finishes at the Liberty Kickoff on Friday inside the Liberty Indoor Track Complex.

JMU's 4x400-meter relay crew of sophomore Kadence Wilson, junior Virginia Keys, freshman Esther Saint-Germain and junior Holly Mpassy crossed the finish line in 3:53.69 to edge Virginia (3:53.74) for gold.

In the field, senior Jordan Venning took home the triple jump crown with a leap of 11.64m (38'-2.25").

How It Happened
Track

Junior Jordyn Henderson earned silver in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.49.
Keys and Kaia Putman went 1-2 in the fifth heat of the 60-meter dash prelims before finishing seventh (7.83) and eighth (7.93) in the finals, respectively.
In the 400-meter dash, Mpassy took second (55.81), while Wilson registered a bronze effort (58.15).

Field

Freshmen pole vaulters Marlayna Concannon and Maddie Moles cleared 3.50m (11'-5.75") to tie for fifth in program history.
Sophomore Jorja Rich notched a PR of 1.58m (5'-2") for sixth in the high jump.

Quoting Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Delethea Quarles
"Our first meet of the season went extremely well. We had some wins and great performances that proved training is working well for us. We take this excitement into our holiday training, which shows great promise for our return to our indoor season."

Up Next
The Dukes will remain in the commonwealth after the break for the Virginia Tech Invitational on Jan. 13 in Blacksburg, Va.