NJCU Gothic Knights

FULL RESULTS

POMONA, NJ…Even fierce winds were not enough to defeat the Gothic Knights' two All-American women's track and field stars. Sophomore All-American MERCEDES HICKS (Millville, NJ/Atlantic City) crushed two school records in the shot put and discus while senior five-time All-American EBONY BARNES (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) easily won the 100-meter dash as the New Jersey City University women's outdoor track and field team opened the 2009 spring campaign at the Osprey Open, hosted by Richard Stockton College at the G. Larry James Stadium on April 4. There was no team scoring.

 

Hicks, weeks after becoming the first NJCU woman to become an indoor All-American in a throwing event, proved that she is going to be just as difficult to beat outdoors. In the shot put, she heaved the apparatus 12.72 meters (41-8.75) into a gusty wind to crush a field of 23 athletes. The next closest athlete had a throw of 11.56 meters (37-11)—nearly four feet shorter. Hicks just missed the NCAA mark of 12.90 and easily surpassed the ECAC standard of 11.60 meters.

 

Meanwhile, she obliterated a nearly 10-year-old school record in the event. The previous NJCU mark was 11.99 meters (39-4) by Marie Glemaud on May 2, 1999 in Pomona.

 

In the discus, Hicks crushed the school record by more than 15 feet with a hurl of 38.39 meters (125-11.50) to exceed the ECAC standard of 35.25 while finishing first overall among 19 athletes. The next closest athlete had a mark of 37.87. The previous NJCU record was 33.68 meters (110-6) by Jamellah Mitchell on May 5, 2001 in Glassboro, NJ.

 

Barnes ran into a brutal headwind and although she was hindered from qualifying for the NCAAs or ECACs, she still placed first overall among 15 sprinters in 12.86 seconds, winning by 8/100^th of a second.

 

Freshman DESERIA SANDERS (Lakewood, NJ/Long Branch) finished second of eight in the long jump, leaping 5.20 meters. She was 10^th of 33 in the 200-meter dash. Freshman MELLISA GOODWIN (Howell, NJ/Howell) timed 1:15.91 and placed fifth of nine in the 400-meter hurdles.

 

Junior CANDICE BELLAMY (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) placed fifth of 11 in the 100-meter hurdles in 17.84 seconds. She was fifth in the long jump with a distance of 4.57 meters and eighth in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:25.16.

 

Junior ERIN DOUGHERTY (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) was 10^th in the 5000-meter run, timing 23:39.29. In the 1500-meter run, freshman DANIELLE COLON (Pleasantville, NJ/Pleasantville) was 14^th in 6:01.96.