Led by an outstanding performance from the Women's 4x200 Relay, the NJIT men's and women's track & field programs kicked off 2024 and restarted their indoor season with an excellent showing during St. Thomas Aquinas' Spartan Invitational Friday evening at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex.
The quartet of Lillian Williams, Nia Holloway, Grace Burke and Maddie Stevens paced the 4x200 field with a time of 1:41.40 that set an NJIT school record, Ocean Breeze facility record and Ocean Breeze collegiate record. The time - which bested the 1:44.48 time recorded nearly one year to the date at the same facility by Amiyah Stephens, Lucia Julvez, Burke, and Holloway - ranked No. 2 in the NCAA, according to Ocean Breeze representatives.
The men's version of the 4x200 preceded the women's with a record-setting victory of their own. Damon Dukes, Jr., Gabriel Truehart, Lossenie Fofana, and Jeusten Jourdain took their relay in a school-best time of 1:29.09, edging out the 1:29.20 mark set by Elisha Bugasch, Fofana, Jordan Lee, and Jacob Leigh last February.
Burke and Stevens contributed to another relay record falling as well as the duo, along with Sanai Jenkins and Hayley Lucido, won the 4x400 with a new school mark of 3:51.38, bettering the February 4, 2023 mark of 3:55.49 set by Burke, Julvez, Sydne Nance and Stevens.
OTHER SCHOOL RECORDS
- Anthony Dvorsky: 8:31.56 in the 3000m (2nd place; replaced former Highlander Daniel Rondon's 2013 time of 8:31.61)
- Sarah Van Ornum: 10:12.93 in the 3000m (3rd place; beat out Katherine Castano's 10:20.95 from February 4, 2023)
OTHER VICTORIES
- Nadia Zhecheva/Amiyah Stephens/Julia Canonaco/Sarah Van Ornum: Women's DMR (12:28.93)
NEXT UP
NJIT returns to Ocean Breeze Jan. 20 for the Villanova Invitational.