Hartford, CT - The University of Hartford track and field teams opened the 2008 indoor season with the Trinity College Bantam Invitational track and field meet on Saturday in Hartford, CT. The event was not a team scored meet, however the Hawks saw three individual titles on the women's side of the field.
Raquel Payne picked up a pair of individual titles in field events, the first in the long jump and the second in the triple jump. She also ran the 100-meter dash for Hartford. Her first individual title came in the long jump where she posted a distance of 15'-11”, beating out the second place finisher by six inches. Also finishing in the top 10 in the long jump for Hartford was Stephanie Barbosa (7th, 13'-10.25”), Diana Christopoulos (8th, 13'-8.25”) and Alison Adelaja (10th, 12'-8.5”).
Payne then topped the only other competitor in the triple jump by more than a foot and a half. She set her outdoor mark for the season at 32'-6.25”. On the men's side a pair of Hawks finished first and second in the triple jump with Stephan Jospitre leading the pack, while Michael Havrilla finished second. Jospitre saw a total distance of 43'-9.0”, and Havrilla jumped 40'-10.5”.
Latasha Jarrett finished in a tie for first place in the women's high jump, scoring a distance of 5'-4.5” in her first attempt of the spring season. Sherilyn Nicholas (3rd, 5'-2.5”), Susan Mullane (t-4th 4'-7.75”), and Barbosa (t-4th 4'-7.75”) also finished in the top-seven in the high jump.
Stephen Paternoster threw a distance of 168'-5” in the javelin throw in his first attempt at the event as a member of the Hawks track and field team. His throw landed him in second place overall, while Alex Ivanov finished in seventh place with his throw of 145'.
On the track side, the men's team saw third and seventh place finishes in the 100-meter dash. Anthony Oluwanifise led the way with his time of 11.72, finishing in third place, while Christopher Carr finished in seventh place with a time of 12.00. Warren Lane was one of four runners to finish in the top-six in the 400-meter dash. Lane finished in second place overall with a time of 51.94.
The women's 400-meter dash saw second and third place finishes from Erika Schramm and Marisa Poleto respectively. Schramm ran a time of 1:01.17, while Poleto finished in a time of 1:02.48. The final first place finish of the day for Hartford came in the 400-meter hurdles, where Kaycee Martinez and Ariana Bass combined for a one-two punch for the Hawks. Martinez ran a time of 1:06.31, while Bass finished just under two second behind her at 1”08.28.
Finally, the Hawks 4x400-meter relay teams ran top times. The men's team finished in first place with Fawaz Al-Sudairi, Eric Ciccone, Lane and Ivanov running a time of 3:33.73. On the women's side the Hawks finished in second place with a time of 4:15.41. The women's relay consisted of Bass, Schramm, Jarrett and Jacqueline Minkler.
The track and field teams will next compete at the UConn Invitational on April 5 in Storrs, CT.
