Georgetown's Jonathan Green broke the BIG EAST record in the men's 5K.
Marquette Men And Women Lead #BIGEASTtrack Championships After Day One
Results from Day One
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – After the first day of the 2018 BIG EAST Track & Field Championships Presented by Jeep, both the Marquette men and women are in the lead with 63 points on the women’s side and 68 points on the men’s side.
For the women, St. John’s is in second with 48 points, while Villanova is in third with 39 points. For the men, Villanova is second with 45 points with DePaul in third with 25 points. Finals for Friday included the pole vault, weight throw and long jump, 5,000-meter run, Distance Medley Relay and women’s pentathlon.
Georgetown’s Jonathan Green ran to a BIG EAST Championship record in the men’s 5,000-meter run as he surpassed the previous record by a little less than two seconds. Green crossed the finish line at 13:51.23, breaking the nine-year record held by fellow Hoya Dan Nunn by 1.42 seconds. Coming in second was Andrew Marston of Villanova (14:03.11) with Butler’s Barry Keane placing third (14:03.92).
For the second-straight year, St. John’s junior Nyla Woods won the first medal awarded in the championship as she became a three-peat BIG EAST weight throw champion. Woods’ winning throw was 18.86 meters. Keely Knobbe of Marquette, who finished third a year ago was the runner-up with a throw of 17.84 meters. Teammate Maya Marion completed the podium with a throw of 17.06 meters.
St. John’s earned 19 points in the women’s pentathlon as freshman Antonia Frazier earned the BIG EAST title with 3,311 points. Frazier becomes the first St. John’s competitor to win the event. The Red Storm freshman won the 60-meter hurdles (9.07 seconds), high jump (1.52 meters) and long jump (5.25 meters) within the multi-event. Frazier was joined on the medal stand by teammate junior Eboni Birch. Birch finished with 3,120 points. Finishing in third was Butler’s Niki Ezeh with 3,105 points. The 2016 and 2017 champion, Monique Felix from Marquette, did not compete this year due to injury.
The women’s 5,000-meter title was won by Providence’s Catarina Rocha, the 2017 BIG EAST Cross Country individual champion. Rocha crossed the line at 16:05.85, a few seconds ahead of her teammate Abbey Wheeler who came in second at 16:07.39.
The women’s pole vault was won by Marquette junior Julie Clayton, who reached 3.75 meters. Villanova’s Amanda McNelis reached the same height but in more tries. She finished as the runner-up. In third was Marquette’s Gemma Tedeschi with a height of 3.65 meters. Tedeschi has medaled in the event over the past three years.
Golden Eagle Terica Harris repeated as the women’s long jump champion for Marquette with a distance of 5.87 meters. DePaul’s Jade Nolan, who finished third in 2017 was the runner-up with a distance of 5.70 meters. Anointing Onouha from St. John’s place third with a distance of 5.68 meters. Onouha has represented the Red Storm on the medal stand in the long jump since 2016,
Villanova closed out the women’s portion of the event with a gold medal in the distance medley relay for the second year in a row as Alex Harris, Erin Jaskot, Kaley Ciluffo and Lauren Ryan crossed the finish line at 11:33.68. Coming in second was the Georgetown team of Josette Norris, Shannon Meisenberger, Lexi Del Gizzo and Margie Cullen with a time of 11:36.41. In third was Providence at 11:40.86, a Friar squad that consisted of Millie Paladino, Mariah O’Gara, Alex DeCicco and Maria Coffin.
On the men’s side, Marquette won the pole vault for the fourth-straight year as graduate student Joel Swanberg returned to reclaim his spot at the top of the podium. Swanberg was the pole vault champion in 2015 and 2016. Last year, Swanberg did not compete in the event due to injury. Swanberg’s title throw was 4.75 meters. His teammate, William Ford finished as the runner-up with a throw of 4.65 meters. Ford was the 2017 BIG EAST champion in the event. Completing the podium was Butler’s Wade Walder with a throw of 4.40 meters.
Swanberg is currently a seven-time BIG EAST champion for his career. Swanberg will also compete in the high jump which will take place on Saturday.
Marquette swept the podium in the men’s weight throw as a new champion was crowned for the first time since 2015. Junior Terrance Howard won the 2018 title with a throw of 18.49 meters. Coming in second and third were his teammates Brendan McKinney (18.09 meters) and Austin Stellpflug (16.60 meters).
With his first gold medal in the men’s long jump, DePaul’s Brian Mada earned his third career BIG EAST indoor title. Mada’s sixth jump of 7.30 meters earned 10 points for the Blue Demons. Coming in second and third were a pair of Marquette competitors, Cory Cegelski and Samuel Johnson. The Golden Eagle duo both reached 7.13 meters, but Cegelski hit the mark in his second jump.
To close out the men’s events on the track, Villanova’s squad of Logan Wetzel, Tory young, Lucas Arrivo and Csey Comber won the Distance Medley Relay with a time of 9:48.31. Butler (Evan Johnson, Graham Stecz, Kyle Harris and Daniel Garcia) came in second, while Providence came in third (Nick Carleo, Daniel Rooney, Jack Carleo and Daniel Garcia).
Championship action on the track begins at 10 a.m. with the men’s heptathlon 60-meter hurdles. The full event schedule and meet program can be found on the
BIG EAST Track & Field Championship Central.
Meet program for Championship Saturday (PDF)
Women (6 events scored)
1. Marquette – 63 points
2. St. John’s – 48
3. Villanova – 39
4. DePaul – 26
5. Providence – 24
6. Georgetown – 18
7. Butler – 12
8. Xavier – 3
Men (5 events scored)
1. Marquette – 68 points
2. Villanova – 45
3. DePaul – 25
4. Butler – 22
5. Georgetown – 20
6. Providence – 8
7. Xavier – 3