Final Results
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Christopher Newport track & field teams won 14 events during the Captains Invitational as CNU wrapped up a solid afternoon of action on Friday at the Freeman Center.
"This turned out to be a very small meet, and that worked out well for us given the last two weeks have been a tough training cycle - plus the start of classes - for all of our event groups," said head coach
Tyler Wingard, whose student-athletes accumulated over 30 PRs during the daylong competition. "That bodes well for when we have a little more atmosphere beyond what we bring ourselves and a little more freshness in our bodies later in the season."
During the competition, four Captains won two events apiece. On the men's side,
Daniel Ferrante captured the 800 (1:59.83) and 3000 (8:55.74), while
Dante Ntiganzwa added victories in the shot put (14.08 meters) and weight throw (16.53).
On the women's side,
Katie Stevens and
Ellie Nuckols led the victors with two wins each. Stevens swept the throws for the second straight meet as the junior standout landed a 12.67-meter launch in the shot put and a 15.99-meter heave in the weight throw. Meanwhile, Nuckols orchestrated an incredible debut. After excelling on the field hockey team in the fall, the freshman phenom made her first appearance on the track & field squad and quickly captured a pair of events. She took the long jump with a 5.19-meter leap before adding a triumph in the 60-hurdles with a 9.66 clocking.
Rounding out the winners for the women,
Julia Kapp captured the 3000 (11:08.43),
Alex Guzman took the triple jump (10.91 meters), and
Ainsley Miller won the pole vault after eclipsing 3.05 meters. Equally impressive on the men's side,
Ben Nitzsche ran away with the 60-hurdles (9.33),
Wade Dunkelberger added the top mark in the high jump (1.93 meters), and
Gary Lane topped a star-studded field in the triple jump with a 14.07-meter distance.
Among other top performers in field events,
Mikael Gessesse led the Captains with a fourth-place finish in the long jump after landing a 5.99-meter effort. Meanwhile,
Latrell Fomby notched a PR in the weight throw with a 15.66-meter toss. That placed him second in the field on Friday and moved him to sixth on the school's all-time performance list.
On the track,
Johnny Atienza was the runner-up in the mile (4:27.61), while
Eli Wilson matched that finish in the 400 (51.78).
Ben Hager also came in fifth in the 60 (7.20), and
John Laser posted the team's top effort in the 200 with a mark of 24.20. For the women,
Eliza Dana came in second in both the 800 (2:34.49) and mile (5:29.16), while
Sydney Trussell was the runner-up in the 200 (25.92).
Jessica Hendricks also added a top-five finish for CNU after posting a team-best time of 8.62 in the 60.
Christopher Newport will return to action on January 20 when the Captains head to Virginia Beach for the Oceanfront Invitational.
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