STORRS, CT – The Rutgers women’s track and field team stands tied for sixth place after the second day of competition at the BIG EAST Conference Championships. The event is being held May 2-4 in Storrs, CT.

Rutgers was led by the two-three finishes of juniors Jen Austin (Garfield, NJ) and Melinda Foster (Barnegat, NJ) in the javelin. Both had NCAA regional-qualifying throws, as Austin placed second with a toss of 144-2 and Foster was third with a throw of 138-6.

Sophomore Shameka Marshall (Mizpah, NJ) placed third in the long jump with a regional-qualifying distance of 20-10.50. Senior Sarah Cullen (Red Bank, NJ) earned points for RU with a sixth-place finish in the shot put (45-3.75), as did sophomore Angela Messerschmidt (Berwick, NJ), who placed sixth in the haptathlon (4,409 points).

Several Scarlet Knights qualified for their event finals on May 4. Marshall finished sixth overall in the 100-meter hurdle preliminaries (14.15), while senior Danielle Hobson (West Orange, NJ) was fourth overall in the 400-meter hurdle prelims (1:00.30).

Competition at the BIG EAST Championships will conclude Sunday, May 4.

BIG EAST Conference Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Team Standings (through Day 2)

1. Notre Dame 46
2. Miami 42
3. Pittsburgh 32
4. Villanova 31
Boston College 31
6. Rutgers 26
Virginia Tech 26
8. Providence 23
9. West Virginia 21
10. Syracuse 13
11. Seton Hall 8
12. Georgetown 7
13. Connecticut 5
14. St. John’s 1

Pole Vault
1. Marissa Dudek (Pittsburgh) 12-5.50
T16. Marsha Day (Rutgers) 10-6.00

Long Jump
1. Tameisha King (Notre Dame) 21-8.25
3. Shameka Marshall (Rutgers) 20-10.50
16. Helena LaMothe (Rutgers) 17-11.50

Shot Put
1. Adrienne Moss (Miami) 50-4.75
6. Sarah Cullen (Rutgers) 45-3.75
T11. Candice Schultz (Rutgers) 42-6.75
13. Sophia Anderson (Rutgers) 41-10.75
Kiara Adams (Rutgers) Foul

Javelin
1. Brooke Freeburg (Providence) 150-2
2. Jen Austin (Rutgers) 144-2
3. Melinda Foster (Rutgers) 138-6

Heptathlon
1. Tamara McGill (Pittsburgh) 5,240
6. Angela Messerschmidt (Rutgers) 4,409
9. Reva McEachern (Rutgers) 4,092

100 Meters (Preliminaries)
1. Lauryn Williams (Miami) 11.49*
15. Jacqueline Todd (Rutgers) 12.18

200 Meters (Preliminaries)
1. Charlette Greggs (Miami) 23.25*
19. Jacqueline Todd (Rutgers) 25.06

400 Meters (Preliminaries)
1. Charlette Greggs (Miami) 53.38*
19. Dominique Sanon (Rutgers) 57.06

800 Meters (Preliminaries)
1. Patricia Pearson (Miami) 2:08.26*
11. Amonica Phipps (Rutgers) 2:29.96

100-Meter Hurdles (Preliminaries)
1. Sharianne Lawson (Miami) 13.36*
6. Shameka Marshall (Rutgers) 14.15*

400-Meter Hurdles (Preliminaries)
1. Jamillah Wade (Miami) 58.43*
4. Danielle Hobson (Rutgers) 1:00.30*

* indicates individual qualified for final