Complete Results
CAROLINA, Puerto Rico – The Northeastern Huskies kicked off the 2015 outdoor season at the Carolina Classic on Saturday, March 21.
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The meet was highly successful for the team as multiple Huskies recorded new personal bests and met the IC4A/ECAC qualifying standards.
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On the women's side, 16 members of the team recorded top-five finishes, including three Huskies who earned the top spot in their respective events. For the men, it was a similar story as 17 student-athletes claimed a finish in the top five of their events.
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The Huskies were one of three Division I teams competing at the Carolina Classic. The Great Danes of Albany and the Red Storm of St. John's represented the other two teams.
"Other teams who have competed at this meet include Texas A&M, Kansas, Houston, Albany and St. John's, to name a few," Director of Track and Field and Cross Country
Cathrine Erickson said. "To be regarded and invited to compete amongst these teams is a great accomplishment for our team members and our program."Â
The women's hammer throw kicked off the action on Saturday. For NU,
Alexandra Rose led the charge, earning a fifth-place finish with a mark of 44.95. In the next event, the shot put, Rose and teammate
Jenna Serunian once again had terrific finishes taking home seventh and second overall with throws of 11.66 and 12.43 meters.
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The field events for the women continued with the long jump as
Nicole Genard and
Betsy Garnick earned third and fourth place with jumps of 5.35 and 5.32 meters. Genard's afternoon was just getting started, however. She went on to claim fourth in the javelin throw and fifth in the 100-meter hurdles.
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Several Huskies also dominated in the field events.
Kate Johnstone stood in victory lane after completing the 1500-meter run in 4:32.93, a new personal best, and the third fastest time in program history. Garnick and
Camille Gooden shined in the 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter dash as both earned third place in their respective events with times of 14.77 and 56.01, respectively.
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Lucy Young's indoor success carried over into the outdoor season as she claimed the top spot in the 3000-meter run. Just behind the sophomore were teammates
Jordan O'Dea and
Kerri Ruffo, who finished in third and fourth place with times of 10:12.22 and 10:29.31, respectively.
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For the men, it was also a day of personal bests.
Kevin Rosenberg opened the competition with terrific performances in the discus throw and the shot put with marks of 47.31 and 15.46 meters, good for second and first place. His discus performance marks a new PR for the senior.
Eric Mellusi also recorded a personal best in the discus throw with a toss of 46.08.
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Kyle Darrow joined Rosenberg at the top of the podium in the long jump as he soared 7.51 meters, the top mark of all the competitors.
Christopher Reider, competing in his first event of the season, earned first place in the javelin with an outstanding throw of 59.56 meters.
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Paul Duffey, who recently was named a USTFCCCA Second-Team All-American, took home first place in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:49.37.
"Both Kyle and Paul continue to show up at every competition," Erickson said. "We feel as though they both booked a seat on the plane to the first round of NCAA Championships in Jacksonville today. We feel the same way about our 4x100 team. We are very happy about the performances as we believe they are very talented athletes."
All in all, the meet was an outstanding start to the Huskies' 2015 outdoor season.
"It is great to be able to finish strong," Erickson said. "I am also equally impressed with the win by Chris Reider in the Javelin, the top three Northeastern all-time performance by
Kate Johnstone in the 1500m and the finish of
Jared Lane and
Jordan Samuels in the hurdles. Additionally, our men's 4x100m had a very impressive time, the second fastest in Northeastern history. They should prove to be a great group to watch."
The team will now head back to Boston to prepare for the Tuft's Snowflake Invitational, which takes place on Saturday, March 28, in Medford, Massachusetts. The full outdoor schedule is available
here.Â
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