Hawk Runners Notch Four Top Finishes

The University of Hartford indoor track and field teams grabbed four top finishes and two school records at the Harvard Open Saturday at Harvard’s Gordon Track and Tennis Center. The Hawks racked up tree individual wins to go along with a relay victory in the season’s second meet.  

More than 25 universities competed at the meet. While there was no team scoring at the meet, head coach Kathy Manizza felt it was one of the top overall performances for the Hartford program.

“This was a huge meet and our athletes did a fantastic job,” Manizza said.

Three of the four wins for the Hawks came from the women. Freshman Tiffany Harrison posted a 58.42 in the 400 meters on her way to taking first place in the event. Harrison was followed by junior teammate Priscilla Appiagyei, who took second place with a time of 58.64 seconds.

Harrison also had a strong showing in the 200-meter dash, placing ninth out of 105 sprinters with a time of 26.59 seconds. Junior Natalie Bonham finished tenth in the race with a personal-record time of 26.65 seconds.

The Hawks 4 x 440-yard relay team of Harrison, Appiagyei, Bonham and freshman Sam Crisafulli also picked up a win with a time of 4:01.34, more than five seconds ahead of the second-place group.

Individually, Crisafulli posted a school-record time of 2:18.45 in the 800-meter run, finishing second in the event.

“Sam ran a tremendous strategic race,” said Hartford assistant coach Mike DuPaul. “She executed our game plan perfectly and moved into second place right before the finish. In addition to breaking the school record, she also qualified for the New England Championships.”

Sophomore Jennifer Flores finished sixth in the 800 meters, posting a time of 2:22.38.

In the field, sophomore Alisha Beeman leapt to victory in the high jump, clearing a height of 1.60 meters. Beeman scored another top-10 finish, coming in eighth in the triple jump with her mark of 10.75 meters.

Also in the field, senior Miranda Wallace finished ninth in long jump with a leap of 4.95 meters, while freshman Savannah Gordon placed ninth in the shot put with a throw of 11.06 meters and tied for tenth in the weight throw with a 14.03-meter mark. 

On the men’s side, senior Anderson Emerole again led the way for the Hawks. Emerole picked up a victory in the 200-meter dash, crossing the line first with a winning time of 22.33 seconds. Emerole also took second place in the 400-meter dash, posting a time of 49.02 seconds.

The Hawks had a pair of top-15 finishes in the 3,000 meters. Senior Andrew Chalmers finished fourth in the race with a time of 8:42.79 while sophomore John Busque shaved 19 seconds off his personal record at the distance with a time of 9:02.01.

Sophomore Andrew Dwyer also had a strong outing for the men. Dwyer finished fifth in the 800-meter run, covering the distance in 2:02.03.

In the mile, senior Wayne Lawrence posted a time of 4:29.16 to take ninth place while classmate Kevin Brandon finished 11th with his time of 4:29.83.

Senior Cody Adamson notched a school record in the 60-meter hurdles. Adamson notched the record time of 8.86 seconds in his preliminary heat. He was just off that pace in the finals, clocking in at 8.88 seconds to take 11th place overall.

The men's 4 x 440-yard relay of Emerole, juniors Gario Graham and Christopher Rodriguez and sophomore Michael Iosebashvili finished fourth in the event with a time of 3:27.55.

The Hawks are off for the next seven weeks, returning to action January 27 at the Reebok Indoor Games in Boston.