GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Today the Jacksonville women's track and field team wrapped up its two-day invitational at the Pepsi Florida Relays, hosted at the James G. Pressly Stadium, Percy Beard Track in Gainesville, Florida and the Embry Riddle Running Elements Classic. Despite encountering potentially strongest competition yet, the athletes held their own showcasing admirable performance in the green and white colors.
On Friday, senior Alana Lecointe threw 45.51m in the hammer throw.
Shortly after, the Dolphins lined up for the 4x100 relay. Indoor champion Cassidra Thompson, ASUN 60m indoor champion, and top ASUN-ranked Cassie Thompson, along with sophomore Mariandree Chacon, propelled JU to clock a 44.89 time making it to the finals. This marked the fastest time achieved by the group this season and ranks in the top 20 in the NCAA East. The team repeated this success in the 4x400, finishing with a time of 3:43.93 which also led to a finals appearance.
In the 200m, ASUN Women's Most Valuable Performer Cassie Thompson set a new personal best with a time of 23.29, securing 8th place out of 48 sprinters. The time put Thompson at number 3on JU's All-Time list.
ASUN indoor champion and this week's ASUN Freshman of The Week, Ma'kala Davis, who leads ASUN in the long jump and triple jump, finished 7th out of 26 athletes in the long jump, reaching a distance of 6.03m, setting a new career best. Simultaneously, Julia Sue-Kam-Ling jumped 5.78m in the event.
To cap off Friday at the Pepsi Florida Relays, Mya Bodrato clocked in at 17:21.45 in the 5k, setting a new personal best.
Friday at the Embry Riddle Running Elements Classic saw Madeline Weiler leading the pack, finishing 2nd in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 11:39.35. In the 1500m, four Dolphins claimed the top five positions, with Annah Priyadi leading the Phins in 2nd place, followed closely by Josephine Leonard, Eryn Field, and Lexi Schwartz.
Weiler, Haney, Leonard, and Priyadi teamed up for the 4x800 relay, bringing home a 2nd place finish. To wrap up Friday's events, Jordan Dix led the Dolphins, finishing 15th out of 37 runners in the 5k.
On Saturday at the Pepsi Florida Relays, Ma'kala Davis narrowly missed another personal best in the triple jump, reaching 12.25m. In the following field event, #1 ranked ASUN leader in discus/shot-put and this week's ASUN Field Performer of The Week, Alyssia Richard, finished 4th in shot put, marking 15.08m, and set a new personal best in discus with a distance of 50.13m.
Indoor Champion Cassidra Thompson represented the Dolphins well in the 400m, setting a new personal record of 54.32. Her sister, Cassie Thompson, held her ground in the 100m, finishing 14th out of 42 sprinters while Mariandree Chacon finished clocking 11.92, .10 seconds short of her best.
Drea Thompson came close to matching her personal best in the high jump, clearing 1.61m.
COACHES COMMENTS
"It's great to see the team step up and have personal bests at a big meet like Florida Relays, said Head Coach Bambi Brundage. "We are continuing to get better every week and I can't wait to see what this season has in store for us".
UP NEXT
The Dolphins will turn around and head to Tampa, Florida to compete in the South Florida Invitational Saturday, April 6.
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