Divide and conquer

Temple earns three first place finishes at George Mason and Miami.

Temple spilt both the men’s and women’s teams in two parts this weekend to compete in the Mason Spring Invitational at George Mason University and the Hurricane Alumni Invitational at the University of Miami.

The Owls sent 10 members of their men’s squad and 12 of their women’s to Miami, and sent six more (four men, two women) to George Mason. The dual events played to the Owls’ advantage.

“It was more relaxed,” sophomore Cullen Davis, who competed at the Mason Spring Invitational, said. “It was more of a distance focused night here at George Mason, while it was more sprinter focused at Miami.”

The distance focus at George Mason served no one better than sophomore Matthew Kacyon, who won the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:13.94.

“I went in really confident,” Kacyon said. “I was seeded second going in and led the entire thing.”

“Coming to George Mason was really nice,” Kacyon said. “The atmosphere was perfect. It was a cool day, which made it perfect for distance running.”

“We all felt relaxed,” Kacyon added. “We went out there and everyone knew what we needed to do.”

Davis competed in the men’s 1500-meter run, finishing in 23rd with a time of 3:52.62.

Junior Will Kellar also competed in the event, running a 3:56.42 for a 38th place finish. In 47th place, out of a field of 76 runners, was freshman Steven Flynn with a time of 4:00.02.

On the women’s side, junior Anna Pavone and sophomore Jenna Dubrow competed in the 1500-meter run. Pavone finished 23rd with a time of 4:43.18 and Dubrow finished 29 with a time of 4:45.73.

Meanwhile in Miami, sophomore Justin Berg won first place in the men’s hammer throw. He took the top spot with a 52.95-meter throw in his second attempt for a 173 point total.

Graduate senior Alan Harding placed third in the men’s 400-meter dash with a time of 48.31. Junior Lionel Wilson followed right behind him in fourth with a time of 48.54, and junior Carlton Stafford in eighth with 49.33.

In the men’s 100-meter dash, junior Gabe Pickett ran a 10.98 to take 11th place. Sophomore Darryl McDuffie placed 24th with a time of 11.21, and freshman Jamal Williams’ 11.39 run put him in 29th.

In the men’s relays, a team of McDuffie, Pickett, Stafford and senior Damian Myers ran a 41.78 to place fourth in the 4×100.

Temple finished in third in the 4×400 with a team of Harding, Pickett, Stafford and Wilson combining for a time of 3:14.19.

Pickett and Stafford competed in the men’s triple jump as well, along with sophomore Derek Holland.

Pickett finished in second with a 15.36-meter jump. His 50 points were just two shy of first.

Holland took third place with a 15.18-meter jump for 49 points. Stafford came in tenth place with a 14.22 meter jump for 46 points.

Holland was also in the men’s long jump event, placing 16th with a 6.09-meter jump for 19 points. Williams finished ahead of him in eighth with a 6.67-meter jump for 21 points.

Freshman Michael Deitzler was set to compete in the javelin throw, but the event was cancelled due to bad weather.

For the women, sophomore Margo Britton won the shot put event. She made a 14.84-meter throw to take first place with 48 points.

Britton came in second in the discus throw, with a 46.68-meter throw for 152 points.

Junior Ambrosia Iwugo ran a 55.61 to place third in the 400-meter dash, and sophomore Michelle Davis Timothy ran a 56.47 to finish 6th.

Iwugo, junior Shanae Bailey, freshman Demeshia Davis and senior Isatta Kenneh finished sixth in the 4×100-meter relay with a time of 46.39.

The Owls would move up to third in the 4×400, as Iwugo, Timothy, senior Tonney Smith and senior Tessa West ran a 3:45.87.

In the 100-meter dash, Isatta ran a 12.10 to finish 22nd and Davis came in 25th with a time of 12.20. Bailey and senior Crystal Hercules placed 36th and 38th with times of 12.63 and 12.65, respectively.

Davis’ time of 24.78 put her in 19th place for the 200-meter dash, with Iwugo coming in at 22nd with a 24.92 run. Isatta ran a 25.04 to finish 26th, sophomore Kiersten LaRoche ran a 25.36 to finish 32nd and Hercules ran a 26.02 to come in at 42.

A time of 56.47 landed Timothy in sixth for the 400-meter dash. LaRoche took third place in the long jump with a 5.74-meter jump for 18 points.

Temple’s lone representative in the 800-meter run was Tonney Smith, who ran a 2:11.49 to finish eighth in the event.

Senior Jade Wilson earned sixth place in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.51, with LaRoche coming in 12th with a time of 15.54.

Wilson and Tessa West finished seventh and eighth, respectively, with times of 1:01.91 and 1:02.45 in the 400-meter hurdles.

Freshman Jamila Janneh came in fourth in the triple jump, earning 38 points on an 11.66-meter jump.

Up next for the Owls is the Widener Invitational, which starts on Friday then continues into Saturday.

Nick Tricome can be reached at tue55707@temple.edu or on Twitter @itssnick215.

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