Jan. 18, 2016 STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.- Squaring off against tougher competition was the mission of the Hawks' track & field team this weekend at the Great Dane Classic, hosted by Albany University this past Saturday. And the team from Maryland held their own by securing a 10th place finish for the men's team and an 11th place finish for the women. For the majority of the team, times held steady or even improved, and a handful soared to new heights during the meet.
Three members of the men's squad made up the team's scoring. Juniors Khalil Rmidi Kinini (Malaga, Spain) and Naje Benton (Philadelphia, Pa.) notched runner up spots in their respective event, and freshman Jordan Leon (Baltimore, Md.) finished fourth in the 800 meter run.
Rmidi Kinini ran a 14:39.20 in the 5000 meter run, falling short of only one runner, a Naval Academy student who ended up breaking the meet record. That time qualifies the Hawk junior for the IC4A Championships in March. Benton already qualified for the IC4A's in the long jump back in December, but his 7.23 meter jump beat out more than 20 other competitors, and Leon ran a time of 1:52.99 also qualified for the March postseason tournament and gave the freshman a new collegiate high.
Additionally, a trio of sophomores on the men's team obliterated their previous career highs in their various events. Brandon Carter (Brandywine, Md.) raced to a 52.49 time in the 400 meter dash and Donovan Mundy (Jacksonville, Fla.) completed the 800 meter run in 1:56.14. Both those times shaved about two seconds off each's top collegiate time. Oussama Chouati (Manresa, Spain) did even better, shattering his previous best in the mile by four seconds with a time of 4:16.82.
On the women's side, eight players contributed to the team total in an all-around effort, starting with junior Rachel Halmon (Waldorf, Md.) and her fourth place finish in the 800 meter with a time of 2:14.45. Sophomore Dypna Umunakwe (Bronx, N.Y.) grabbed a fifth place spot in the 200 dash with a clip of 25.08 seconds, and both she and Halmon helped contribute to another fifth place time in the 4x400 relay at 3:53.12. The time, assisted by freshmen Lenneisha Gilbert (Miami, Fla.) and Alicia Coslon (Waldorf, Md.) was the fastest for the Lady Hawks this season.
Senior Donisha Porter (Aberdeen, Md.) claimed sixth place in the shot put with a distance of 13.37 meters, while freshman Yaminah Smith (Newark, N.J.) and sophomore Tanise Edwards (Philadelphia, Pa.) added one point each. Smith's performance in the mile yielded a time of 5:13.26, a new collegiate high, and Edwards' distance of 1.65 meters in the high jump placed her in an eighth place tie.
Two other accomplishments for the women were the qualification of junior Shelasia Leitch (Newark, N.J.) to the ECAC with a time of 8.76 seconds in the 60 meter hurdles, and sophomore Nicovia Carter (Upper Marlboro, Md.) earning a new collegiate high of 14.29 meters in the weight throw.
The Hawks return to Staten Island for the Gotham Cup next weekend, which is scheduled for Friday at 1:00p.m. at the Ocean Breeze Complex.
