CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Rutgers women’s track and field team traveled to the Lou Onesty/Milton Abramson Invitational held at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va. on Friday, April 10 and Saturday, April 11.
"I think the cold, rain and high winds really hampered our performances,” said head coach James Robinson. “However we were able to produce a couple of good individual performances. The team's overall effort was good and we just have to continue to persevere through competitive disadvantages just as everyone else has to.”
The 4x100m relay squad consisting of junior Pavielli Vega (Orlando, Fla.), freshman Brittni Rodriguez (East Brunswick, N.J), sophomore Jamie Walker (Lawnside, N.J.), and Gomes were able to surpass the impact of the cold weather to capture a victory. The squad also earned BIG EAST and ECAC qualifying marks for RU, clocking a time of 47.33.
RU freshman Alex Kelly (Florham Park, N.J.) excelled in the javelin throwing 45.12 meters. Kelly placed second overall and achieved BIG EAST, ECAC and NCAA Regional qualifying standards.
In the distance events, senior Cheyenne Ogletree (Garfield, N.J.) finished second in the 1,500 meter run. She clocked in with a time of 4:35.78, accomplishing both BIG EAST and ECAC qualifying times.
Another BIG EAST and ECAC qualifier was turned in by Michelle Gomes (Orlando, Fla.) in the 200-meter. The junior finished second with a time of 24.30. Gomes also ran in the 100-meter dash, posting a second-place performance and BIG EAST time of 12.19. In addition sophomore Courtney Sample (Mclean, Va.) earned a BIG EAST qualifying time of 1:03.62 in the 400 meter hurdles, placing fourth.
Additionally, junior Natalie Clickett (Union City, Pa.) had a good performance in the shot put throwing 13.51 meters to finish second, achieving a BIG EAST qualifying mark. Clickett also competed in the discus as she took sixth with a mark of 43.01 meters (BE). Freshman Janet Adekola (West Orange, N.J.) secured another BIG EAST finish in the field events, taking seventh with a throw of 12.82 in the shot put.
“We look forward to our competition next week in order to garner the last BIG EAST qualifying marks,” said Robinson.
The RU women’s track and field team will be looking towards its next opportunity to earn a few more qualifying standards. The Scarlet Knights will travel down to Princeton, N.J. on Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18 to compete in the Larry Ellis Invitational . RESULTS
