Standish, ME – The Men's and Women's Track & Field teams had a fantastic outing at their only in-state meet of season, traveling to Saint Joseph's College of Maine for the Monks Invitational. The Mustangs notched 20 top ten finishes across all the events.
"Today was a big day for our team," said head coach Brian McDonald. "We had some great performances from a few athletes, really good marks for everyone, and got some people their last chance to hit qualifying marks for an event before the YSCC Championships."
On the women's side, Felicia Marin had a fantastic run in the 400 meters and 100-meter dash. The former Hampden Academy Bronco finished 3rd and 5th respectively. In the 400, the freshman posted a time of 1:03.94 for her best mark of the season. Plus, she was impressive in the 100, finishing in 13.64 seconds. Marin was also part of the 4x100 relay team, along with Ella Lavigne, Destiny Mooers, and Adriyanna Edge, which finished in 54.80 seconds.
Lavigne found herself competing in several different disciplines. The two-time All-American on the basketball court finished 13th in both the 100-meter dash and long jump but saved her best for the 3000-meter steeplechase. She came home 4th with a time of 14:55.47 ahead of Marney Rees in 7th. Rees also threw in the javelin, reaching 14.18 meters, and discuss, with a best of 19.03 meters.
Samantha Saiauski competed in all four throwing disciplines. The freshman from Kittery, ME finished 23rd in javelin, 30th in hammer throw, 34th in shot put, and 38th in discus. Adriyanna Edge was 12th in the triple jump and also tested her legs in the long jump and 100-meter dash.
Kierra Spradlin represented the team well in the 800 meters to finish 16th, along with setting times in the 400 and 100. Abigail Therriault posted an 8th-place finish in the 5000 meters, while Mooers was 12th in the 100-meter hurdles.
"I was really happy seeing the athletes manage a couple more events than the previous meets to get a feel for a full day of preparing to compete in multiple disciplines," said McDonald. "I like where we are right now and am excited to watch the team these last two weeks."
On the men's side, Shane Johansen had the best result of any Mustangs on the day. The USCAA 2nd-Team All-American was the runner-up in the high jump, clearing a season-best 1.86 meters and just losing out to USM's Jacob Jackson. It was an impressive showing for the sophomore in a field full of NCAA DIII athletes. Johansen also competed in five other events, coming 8th in 110-meter hurdles, 9th in triple jump, 9th in pole vault, 15th in shot put, and 23rd in javelin.
Ben Francis took on five events himself, finishing a best of 5th in the shot put. The freshman from Orono, ME put up a mark of 11.37 meters, while coming in 7th in high jump, 17th in hammer throw, 20th in discus, and 30th in the 100-meter dash.
The sprint team got a chance to show their best stuff. Exaucee Namwira was excellent in the hurdles, finishing 4th in the 110-meter and 6th in the 400. The Morse High School product ran the 110 in just 18.07 seconds, ended the 400 with a time of 1:03.10, and set CMCC's fastest 100-meter dash time of the day coming home 21st in 12.31 seconds.
Da'Vohn Jonas also competed in all three of those events, finishing just behind Namwira in 7th, 8th, and 24th respectively. The Kingswood, TX native also placed 14th in the long jump with a mark of 5.67 meters. Djordje Stanimirovic ran a 24.58 in the 200-meter dash and 55.41 seconds in the 400 meters, finishing 12th and 11th respectively.
In the longer distances, Owen Heseltine placed 6th in the 5000 meters with a 19:43.12 time. He also ran a 2:22.20 in the 800 meters to finish 14th. Mark Schepici and Zachary Peirce both ran the 1500 meters, coming home 16th and 14th. Team captain Schepici also had a 5th place showing in 3000-meter steeplechase, posting a 13:40.73. Peirce extended his day setting a mark in the long jump and leading the team in javelin with a throw of 37.21 meters, good enough for 11th place.
Throwing team members, Hunter Holt, Duncan Brewster, and Robert Spears all competed in four events. Holt threw 24.73 meters in discus, 23.64 meters in javelin, 20.06 meters in hammer throw, and 7.69 meters in shot put. Spears had a team-best showing in pole vault, clearing 2.60 meters. The freshman also competed in discus, shot put, and 400-meter hurdles. Meanwhile, Brewster threw 22.97 meters in javelin, 21.03 meters in discus, and 7.26 meters in shot put. He also set a mark in pole vault.
The Mustangs will have a few members on the road next week competing at the Tufts University Sunshine Classic on Saturday, while the whole team prepares for the USCAA and YSCC Championships on April 25th and 26th.
