Despite wet conditions, in its second outdoor meet of the season, the Brown track and field team delivered some outstanding performances at the UConn Invitational this weekend, resulting in six first-place finishes for the men and several second- and third-place finishes for the women.
Several team members earned personal bests in their events, most notably Ikenna Achilihu '08, who jumped 50 feet, 9.25 inches in the triple jump, setting the record for the best jump in the history of Brown's track and field program.
His jump also qualified him for the NCAA regionals at the end of May. A group of distance runners from the team also traveled to Stanford over the weekend, producing some more top performances from members of both the men's and women's track teams.
Though all of the men on the team brought their best to Connecticut, several exceeded expectations. Though this was the first outdoor meet for the track athletes - the team's second outdoor meet - they came into the event with full force. Nick Sarro '08 ran a time of 1:57.28 in the 800-meter race, earning first place in addition to his second-place finish in the 1500-meter with a time of 3:57.28.
"Despite this being our season opener, and taking place in less than ideal weather conditions ... I was proud of how the team competed," said Sarro. "This was a good meet to test out our fitness levels and see where we are at in our training so we can continue to prepare for later in the season. On an individual level, I only have a few more chances left (to compete), this being my senior year, so it always feels good to compete well."
Another runner for the men's team who earned first place was Matt Jasmin '09, who ran a 14.78-second race in the 100-meter hurdles. In the field events, four athletes won their events, including Deshaun Mars '08 in the long jump, with a jump of 22 feet, 7.25 inches; Bryan Powlen '10 with a discus throw of 163 feet, 4 inches; and Eric Wood '09 in the shot put and hammer, with throws of 50 feet, 1.25 inches and 168 feet, 11 inches, respectively, in addition to Achilihu's win in the triple jump.
Head Coach Craig Lake was especially impressed with Achilihu's comeback.
"Ikenna missed indoors as well as all last year with a series of injuries," Lake said. "It was fantastic to see him perform so well, as he very easily could have just quit at some point. Great to see his hard work and persistence pay off for him."
The women's team placed third overall at the meet with 80 points, behind winners Connecticut and runner-up Rhode Island. The highest-ranked finish of the day came, once again, from Danielle Grunloh '10, who earned second and third place for her throws of 147 feet, 11 inches and 45 feet, 0.5 inch in the discus and shot put, respectively.
"Coach has been perfecting and changing our technique, but we still managed to throw some really decent marks," said Grunloh. "We are in great shape to compete this weekend at home. Hopefully, as the weight training eases up, our strength and speed will be at their peaks, and the distances will follow."
The rest of the women displayed determination and consistency, with third-place finishes from Rachel Biblo '11 in the long jump, Shannon Stone '10 in the triple jump and Herald Sports Staff Writer Katie Wood '10 in the javelin. Subsequent fourth-place positions were won by Tiffany Chang '08 in the pole vault, Grace Watson '11 in the high jump and Brynn Smith '11 in the shot put.
The Stanford Invitational further proved the talent of the Bears' runners as Christian Escareno '10 posted a personal best of 14:14.17 for the 5k race, one of the top 10 times in the history of the team for the event. Other brilliant performances in the 5k came from Duriel Hardy '10, who finished in 14:21, and Colin Brett '10, who debuted with a time of 14:35.
"We had some fantastic performances this weekend," said Lake. "That Escareno, Hardy and Brett all performed so well demonstrates that our young sophomore class will be a huge part of our future, which looks bright."
First-years who performed well include Kesley Ramsay '11, who reeled in a 2:16 finish in the 800-meter, and Michaeline Nelson '11 and Caitlin Clark '11 who ran very well in the 800-meter and the 1500-meter, respectively.
Weather permitting, the track and field team will have a home invitational this Saturday, starting at 9 a.m.
