Men’s and Women’s Track & Field Teams Record Dominant Performances at Alden Invitational

Saturday, December 2

Providence, R.I.

11 a.m.

Brown University

Alden Invitational

Photo by: Chip DeLorenzo

Men’s and Women’s Track & Field Teams Record Dominant Performances at Alden Invitational

12/2/2023 7:32:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field

Results Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Brown University men's and women's track & field programs began the 2023-24 indoor season grandly, sweeping the 37th season-opening Alden Invitational at the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Bears played host to five teams, with the men scoring 154 points to narrowly beat Rhode Island (152) and place comfortably ahead of Holy Cross (72), Stonehill (68), Bryant (48), and Providence (33). The women tallied an impressive 234 points to best Holy Cross (97), Bryant (90), PC (53), Stonehill (41), and URI (21).

Ken Hunt, Men's and Women's Track and field Coaching Chair, has spent over a decade with the Bears and raved about the team's unique energy out of the gate.

"To come out here and have what I would consider one of the best starts in all my years being here is very exciting," Hunt said.

The field events were the highlight of the day for Brown, as Zach Love set a school record in the men's indoor long jump with a personal best mark of 7.65m, and fellow senior John McNeil became the first Bear to clear seven feet since 2006.

"I'm excited to see it for both of them," Hunt said. "It shows what resilience can do, to have that patience and see things through."

Jumps
Led by Love's school record, the Bears swept the top five scoring positions in the men's long jump. McNeil (2nd – 7.33m), Frank Monahan-Morang (3rd – 7.25), Joseph Oduro (4th – 7.04), and Sam Hurcomb (5th – 6.96) rounded out the scoring for Brown in the event.

Jada Joseph made history on the women's side as well, winning the long jump in a personal-best mark of 6.10m – second-best all-time in program history. Zoe Tsoukas (5.48m) placed second in the long jump after Jada, while Delaney Seligmann (5th – 5.36) and Rachel Bibiu (6th – 5.19) also picked up points for the Bears.

McNeil cleared 2.14m to win the men's high jump, besting his previous height of 2.12m to move from 7th to 4th all-time in program history. Rudecia Bernard also jumped up the all-time rankings, as her first-place performance of 1.76m in the women's high jump vaulted her from 10th to 6th in Brown history.

Nene Mokonchu (1.71m) and Lily Reynolds (1.66) followed Bernard in the high jump, as the Bears went 1-2-3 in the event. Rosie Volpintesta (1.56m) placed 7th.

Oduro won the men's triple jump (15.25m), and Lauren Yeboah-Kodie (12.61m) followed suit in the women's event. Odenigbo (12.08), Makaya Fofana (11.85m), Daryn Davis (11.80), and Simone Dunbar (11.12 – personal best) placed second through fifth after Yeboah-Kodie to cap off a day that saw Brown dominate the jumping events.

In total, the women complied 87 points over the long, triple and high jumps, while the men amassed 57.

Sprints
Brown swept the top five spots in the women's 60m high hurdles with Yeboah-Kodie emerging as the individual champ in 8.68 seconds. Following in order of placement were Brooke Ury (8.72), Adrienne Usher (8.91 – personal best), Elle Riley (8.936), and Chiamaka Odenigbo (8.937).

Freshman Alyssa Jackson won the women's 60m dash in her collegiate debut en route to posting the 4th fastest 60m time in Brown history (7.63 seconds). Emma Gallant followed closely with a personal-best time (7.71) as the Bears cruised to a 1-2 finish in the event.

The men's team also placed runners in both the 60m dash and 60m high hurdles, as Daniel Sarisky and Jack Kelley placed 4th and 5th respectively in the dash and Marcus Gillespie finished 3rd in the hurdles.

Kelley broke seven seconds for the first time (6.99) in the dash, and Sarisky tied his collegiate best time of 6.97. Gillespie tied his career-best time of 8.08 seconds – the fifth-fastest hurdles performance in program history.

Sarisky and Kelley followed up the 60m by placing 2nd and 3rd in the men's 300m with times of 35.14 and 35.19 seconds respectively. Jason Estrada crossed the line in 4th (35.46), and Emmett Forrestel (36.55) also picked up a point.

Jenna Lowrey paced the Brown women in the 300m finishing 3rd in 40.93. Jackson and Gallant placed 4th (40.965) and 5th (40.969).

Throws
Chidinma Agbasi claimed the individual title in the women's weight throw with a personal best toss of 17.55m, climbing from 6th to 5th all-time in Brown history. Freshman Jillian Leahy made her debut on the top-ten list with a second-place mark of 16.74m – tenth-best in program history.

Mackenzie Palinski (3rd – 16.18m) and Nicolette Ducharme (7th – 15.04m) added on to the Bears scoring in the women's weight throw.

Keith Daigneau made his collegiate debut with a second-place finish in the men's weight throw (17.98m). Tyler Gurth followed in third (17.09) and Ethan Wordell placed fifth (16.65). Gurth also placed 4th in the shot put with a personal best mark of 14.73m.

Kendra Ezeama finished off the contest for Brown on a high note, as she won the shot put, the last event of the day. Her mark of 14.66m pushed her from 8th to 6th all-time in program history. Michelyn Appiah (12.52) and Ducharme (11.64) placed sixth and seventh in the event.

Mid-Distance/Distance
John Farrell and Julia Soderbery took home titles in the men's and women's 3000m races. Farrell covered the distance in 8:34.5 to lead the men, while first-year Soderberry paced the women's field in 10:51.2.

Geordie Young placed second (8:42.5) behind Farrell. Olivia Bergin (11:01.4) and Caroline McCool (11:05.6) finished 3rd and 6th respectively in the women's event.

Henry Wood won the men's 1000m in 2:32.6, edging out the second-place finisher by less than half a second. Naveen Sharma placed sixth in scoring in the event (2:37.6).

Scarlet Stimson (4th – 5:16.5) and Juliana Gonzalez (7th – 5:18.5) both placed in the women's mile. Tanisha Patil finished third in the 500m (1:17.9), and Danna Ofek came in third in the 1000m (3:11.3).

Jake Haley finished sixth in the men's 500m (5th in scoring) with a time of 1:08.2.

Relays
Brown's relay team of Gonzalez, Ofek, Patil, and Stimson finished third in the women's 4x400m with a time of 4:10.0. The men did not enter a relay team.

Distance at BU Season Opener
Brown sent several distance athletes to the historic Boston University Track & Tennis Center – coined the 'fastest indoor track in the world' – for the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener.

Evan Sherman led off the day by posting a personal-best time of 14:35.52 in the men's 5000m, and Nina Kruzewska finished the women's 1000m in 3:01.06 in her collegiate debut.

Nimrit Ahuja ran 9:38.5 in the women's 3000m, crushing her previous best of 9:53.7 in the event. Isolde McManus (9:46.3), Julia Schriefer (10:07.8) and Stephanie Kriss (10:20.6) also competed for Brown.

Miles Mullins capped off the day for the Bears at BU, narrowly missing a personal record in the men's 3000m (8:22.2).

Looking Ahead
The Brown women's team plans to send a group of pentathletes to compete in the URI Penthalton on Friday, December 8, at Mackal Field House. Reigning Ivy League champion Chiamaka Odenigbo and third-place finisher Adrienne Usher are among those slated to compete.

The men are next scheduled to compete at the West Point Open on January 6.

"The hope is to make a statement [this season]," said Hunt. "Brown is a great place to be academically, but we want people to know that we produce some great athletes too."

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