Final Results

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Katie Stevens shattered her own school record in the weight throw and headlined a historic effort by multiple Christopher Newport throwers as the CNU track & field teams kicked off the 2023-24 campaign with a fantastic performance on Saturday during the Holiday Open at the Freeman Center.

After piecing together a record-setting sophomore season, Stevens picked up right where she left off by setting fire to the history books once again. In her first appearance as a junior, the third-year sensation obliterated her own school standard in the weight throw. During the event, she unleashed a 16.32-meter heave, which broke her previous mark by nearly three feet.

Hours later, Stevens continued her afternoon with a victory in the shot put as well. She uncorked a 12.73-meter launch, which marked the fourth-best throw in school history.

Meanwhile, on the men's side, Dante Ntiganzwa also added a pair of historic efforts in the throwing events. The senior captured the weight throw with a 16.77-meter toss, which placed him fourth on the program's all-time charts and marked the finest heave by a Captain since 2018. He also snatched the shot put with a 14.23-meter throw. That moved him to ninth in school history.

Along with Ntiganzwa's work, Latrell Fomby finished second in both events after posting a 14.59-meter distance in the weight throw and a 13.45-meter effort in the shot put. Additionally, Daniel Young equaled Fomby's showing in the shot with his own 13.45-meter mark.

On the track, Daniel Ferrante continued an outstanding senior season. After qualifying for nationals in cross country during the fall, he opened the track & field campaign with a time of 15:10.16 in the 5000. That moved him to seventh on the school's all-time charts and marked the fastest clocking by a Captain in five years.

In shorter events, Daniel Fox added his own top-flight time in the 60. During the semifinals, he clocked in at 6.88, which tied his PR and matched the fifth-fastest mark in program history.

Among other victors, Eliza Dana won the women's 3000 (11:04.44), Ainsley Miller captured the pole vault (2.76 meters), and both the men's and women's 4x400-relays posted wins as well.

Orchestrating an incredible collegiate debut, Ashley Eley finished second in both the 60-hurdles (10.11) and high jump (1.56 meters) while running the second leg on the victorious 4x400-relay. Fellow freshman Lily Knowles also was the runner-up in the pole vault with a 2.61-meter clearance, while Jessica Hendricks was second in the 400 (1:04.51).

The men also had several freshman post team-best times on Saturday. Kevin Farnsworth came in third overall in the 3000 (9:23.60), Ben Hager was fourth in the 400 (52.22), and Eli Wilson threw down a time of 24.06 in the 200. Among the veterans, Wade Dunkelberger came in second in the high jump (1.95 meters), Logan Bishop finished third in the pole vault (3.20 meters), and Leo Brennan was seventh in the long jump (6.29 meters). Logan Pena-Bandalo also added a third-place showing in the 60-hurdles after crossing in 9.33.

For the women, Eleanor Eungard registered the squad's top time in the 200 with a 28.97 clocking, while Miller added a sixth-place showing in the long jump (4.90 meters) to go along with her win in the pole vault. Alex Guzman also finished third in the triple jump with a 10.30-meter leap.

"The throws group had an outstanding day - a lot of second-years showing how much they have grown and some big veteran performances," said Director of Track & Field Tyler Wingard, whose student-athletes accumulated 20 team PRs during the meet. "The Sprints-Hurdles-Jumps group put in some good work and showed we have a pretty good foundation in place. The handful of racers from the Distance group took great advantage of the opportunity to show off the fitness they developed through the fall. We are looking forward to some more good work from the team over the break and building on this strong start in the new year."

Christopher Newport will return to action next month when CNU hosts the Captains Invitational on January 12.

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