It was a disappointing day as the women’s and men’s track & field teams struggled to reach the event finals at the IC4A/ECAC championships in Boston on Saturday.
The triple jump was the first field event that the men competed in. Sophomore Derek Holland continued to get better as he opened with a 13.75 meter jump and a 13.89 meter jump in his first and second attempts, but leaped to 14.22 meters in his final jump. Junior Gabriel Pickett fouled on his first attempt but rebounded nicely with a 14.15 meter jump in his second attempt and leaped to a 14.25 meter jump in his final attempt.
The other field event the men competed in was the high jump but unfortunately Sophomore Darryl McDuffe failed to clear the height of 2.01 meters.
The track seemed to be a much harder feat to conquer as Cullen Davis, a Junior, finished eighth in the preliminary heats with a time of 4 hours, 16 minutes and 23 seconds, and did not qualify for the finals.
In the 400m, sophomore Lionel Wilson finished fourth in his heat with a time of 48.54 seconds and did not qualify for the finals. Teammate, senior Damian Myers finished with a time of 49.19 for fifth place in his heat.
Junior Matthew Kacyon finished with a time of 14.57.85 and finished in 12th place in the 5000m.
In the 4×400 meter relay Wilson, Myers, Carlton Stafford and Pickett came up just short in qualifying for the finals as they finished in third place.
On the women’s side there were three events. The only field event on Saturday was the weight throw. Sophomore Margo Britton first attempt was 15.13 meters. She fouled on her second attempt. On her third and final attempt she threw a 15.48.
On the track there were only two events, the 400m and 800m.
Sophomore Michelle Timothy Davis ran a time of 57.16.5. She did not qualify.
In the 800m, Senior Tonney Smith ran a time of 2.13.65.
Despite his team’s performance, coach Eric Mobley focused on the positives.
“Overall it was solid,” said Mobley. “Our men’s’ 4×4 had a brilliant performance with the best time of the year. Matt Kacyon in the 5k was his second best time ever and [the] same thing with Cullen Davis in the mile, it was his second best mile time ever. Even though it was solid there are still some things we can work on as we make the transition to outdoor.”
As the teams prepare to transition into Sunday’s events, Mobley is optimistic that his team has a chance of reaching an event final.
“Tomorrow we have Margo Britton in the shot put, so she has a great chance of making it to the finals and our women’s DMR has really great chance of breaking our school’s record again in the distance meter relay, those are some of the things we are looking for,” said Mobley.
Mobley and his team will get another chance on Sunday to participate in the awards ceremonies in the evening.
Danielle Nelson can be reached at danielle.nelson@temple.edu.
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