ORLANDO, Fla. - The Jacksonville women's track and field squad triumphantly concluded its two-day invitational at the UCF Track and Field Complex in Orlando, Florida, this Saturday. Despite formidable competition, the athletes represented the green and white admirably, notching nine top 10 performances and achieving new personal bests.
On Friday, senior and ASUN indoor gold medalist Alana Lecointe narrowly missed her personal best in the hammer, recording a throw of 51.63 meters.
Following Lecointe's impressive performance, ASUN indoor champion Ma'kala Davis secured a 5.85 distance in the long jump. The freshman fell just short of her personal record by 0.03 inches. Julia Sue-Kam-Ling also excelled in the long jump, finishing in the top half percentile for the event.
Seniors Lecointe and ASUN leader Alyssia Richard claimed 5th and 4th place, respectively, out of 42 throwers in the shot put. To cap off day one, Julia Sue-Kam-Ling, in the 200m dash, clocked in at 25.27 seconds.
As Saturday commenced, Alyssia Richard secured 5th place and nearly set a new personal best in the discus throw, falling just inches short of a new record
Drea Thompson, coming off a strong performance at the Bob Hayes Invitational, cleared 1.63 meters in the high jump.
Ma'kala Davis, the ASUN indoor champion, jumped 12.23 in the triple jump.
Shortly after, the Dolphins clinched third place out of 16 universities in the 4x100 relay with a time of 45.90 seconds.
JU's ASUN indoor champion, Cassidra Thompson, led the Dolphins in the 400m dash, finishing 4th out of 61 runners and nearly setting a new personal best. Freshman Savannah Chadic from Key West, Florida, represented the team, securing 16th place among tough competition and narrowly missing her personal best. Sophomore Makayla Francis also finished in the top half tier of competitors.
In the 100m dash, ASUN Women's Most Valuable Performer Cassie Thompson finished 6th out of 69 competitors, setting a new personal best time of 11.57 seconds. Julia Sue-Kam-Ling also achieved a personal best with a time of 12.38 seconds. Mariandree Chacon fell just .8 seconds short of her personal best.
COACHES' COMMENTS
"Today we had some great performances that will propel us into the next weekend at Florida's Relays," said Head Coach Bambi Brundage. "Cassie once again continues to push her limits and it's exciting to see her continuing to get faster. Alyssia added a mark in the discus that gives her confidence chasing after a spot in the NCAA first round. Ma'kala had a solid two days and it's exciting to continue see her grow into her own as a freshman."
UP NEXT
The Dolphins will return to Gainesville to compete in the Florida Pepsi Relays on March 29 and 30.
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