Track Sets Two School Records in Return to Action

After a month long layover, the University of Hartford men’s and women’s track and field teams resumed their indoor schedules at the Wesleyan Invitational on January 22. The Hawks combined for six first-place finishes and put down a pair of school records.

Anderson Emerole and Warren Lane, a pair of Hawk sprinters, dominated the short distances. Emerole, a junior, notched first-place finishes in the 200-meter and 400-meter races with times of 22.48 and 49.93. Lane, who finished third in the 200 with his time of 22.93, finished right behind Emerole in the 400, clocking in at 50.38.

Sophomore Christopher Rodriguez grabbed fourth place in the 600-meter run when he completed the distance in 1:26.42 while scoring a Hartford school record. Teammate Wayne Lawrence, a junior, also ran a school record breaking time of 1:27.94. However, his title was short-lived as Rodriguez bettered his time in the following heat.

Junior Andrew Chalmers and senior Jonas Hampton rounded out the top finishes for the Hawks on the track as the duo finished one, two in the 5,000-meter event. Chalmers tore up the track, turning in a time of 15:32.14 to secure first place while Hampton checked in at 15:46.12.

The men’s 4x400-meter relay squad, consisting of Jared Casey, Emerole, Christopher Carr and Lane, clocked in with the meet’s third best time (3:26.47) while the distance medley took home second-place honors (10:55.88).

Freshman Rashawn Providence and sophomore Chasani Douglas got things started for the Scarlet and White in the field events. Providence combined for a distance of 13.17 meters to claim third place while Douglas’ mark of 12.98 meters was good for fourth. Also checking in with a strong performance was rookie Peter Swota who cleared a height of 3.65 meters in the pole vault, recording the sixth-best mark in the event.

Kenterra Richardson and Grace Lawal, a pair of Hartford sprinters, kicked off the women’s races with strong performances in the 55-meter run. Richardson streaked to a finish of 7.67 to place third while Lawal finished fourth with her time of 7.69.

After recording a third-place finish in the 200-meter dash (26.96), sophomore Priscilla Appiagyei went on to earn the 400-meter title, completing the single lap in 1:00.17. Marisa Poleto followed those performances with a school-record time in the 600-meter run. The senior won her heat and was the second runner to finish with her time of 1:41.68, falling just seven-tenths of a second short of first place.

Rounding out the top track performances was the women’s 4x400-meter relay team (Natalie Bonham, Rebecca Cheatham, Appiagyei and Grace Lawal), which garnered second-place honors (4:13.20) and the distance medley team (Kayla Koonz, Poleto, Rebecca Mendes and Jennifer Flores) that also took second (13:45.85).

The women dominated in the jumps, claiming first-place finishes in two of four events. Nicolle Adams, a junior, leapt 5.06 meters in the long jump to take top honors in the event. Rookie Rebecca Cheatham’s mark of 4.93 meters ranked her second on the afternoon. Another rookie excelled in the jumps on Saturday as Alisha Beeman won the high jump, clearing a height of 1.58 meters. Caitlyn Hauswirth, a junior, vaulted 2.75 meters to earn seventh in the pole vault.