Final Results

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Opening the outdoor campaign with a stellar performance on Saturday afternoon, the Christopher Newport track & field teams registered nine victories and posted five all-time performances during the Blue & Silver Challenge at TowneBank Stadium.

Picking up right where they left off in the winter, the throwers continued rewriting the record books. On the men's side, Colin Sliwa climbed to third on the program's all-time performance list in the hammer after posting a victory with a 52.36-meter launch. Meanwhile, in the shot put, Seth Morris won the event with a 15.70-meter toss, while Daniel Young was the runner-up with a 15.41-meter showcase. Those distances rank fourth and sixth in school history, respectively.

On the women's side, Katie Stevens captured the hammer with a 50.61-meter missile, which fell just shy of her own school record. However, Rylee Ehrett made the history books in the event with a 42.43-meter distance. That vaulted her to ninth on the program's all-time performance list.

Rounding out the history-makers, Lily Knowles won the pole vault with a 2.99-meter clearance. That eclipsed her PR and marked the 10th-best effort in school lore.

"Hosting our home opener in conjunction with a two-day high school meet makes for a challenging weekend for the team," said head coach Tyler Wingard, whose student-athletes registered 42 PRs during the meet. "They did a great job of managing the high school meet and sharing the best of CNU's community vibe, and then they turned around to get some good competitive work done. With our Conference Championships landing in the middle of finals, this weekend was a good rehearsal for managing energies and focus."

Among other winners on the women's side, Stevens also took the top spot in the shot put (11.67 meters), while three Captains captured track events. On Friday evening, Lena Blagg finished first in the 10,000 with a time of 42:09.42. Meanwhile, on Saturday, Sydney Trussell won the 400 (59.22), and Ellie Nuckols captured the 100-hurdles (15.66). 

In addition to Blagg's work on Friday, Tom Foti claimed the men's 10,000 with a time of 33:12.08.

Along with their victorious efforts, Stevens was the runner-up in the discus (37.18 meters) and third in the javelin (29.02 meters), Trussell was second in the 200 (25.66), and Nuckols matched Kendal Brown for the team's top clearance in the high jump with a 1.38-meter effort. Meanwhile, Brown led the team in the 400-hurdles (1:19.71), while Adalyn Perez added CNU's top clockings in both the 800 (2:27.45) and 1500 (4:57.18).

Capping off the women's top performances, D'yan Robinson was third in the triple jump (10.30 meters), Grace Damewood placed fourth in the long jump (5.02 meters), and the 4x400-relay finished second in the field. Together, Josie Brumfield, Millie Weinhold, Didi Dasilva, and Kayla Lopez crossed the line in 4:36.52.

In track events on the men's side, first-year speedster Darrin Gallegos-Perches was third in the 110-hurdles (16.78) and fifth in the 400-meter discipline (1:00.48). He also teamed up with Patrick Clark, Jacob Diehl, and John Laser on a fourth-place finish in the 4x100-relay. Together, the foursome completed the event in 44.96.

Along with the team's freshman hurdler, Christopher Newport received several other top-flight efforts in running disciplines. Luca Hinton was second in the 800 (1:59.40), Evan Young placed third in the 1500 (4:06.29), Jason Sangiuliano came in fourth in the 3000-steeplechase (10:57.86), and Taylor Dalton finished sixth in the 5000 (16:31.99). In shorter distances, Roth Thomas concluded the 400 in 50.74, Matthew Ryan wrapped up the 200 in 22.86, and Marshall Mattison completed the 100 in 11.27.

Hinton, Caiden Aurelio, Johnny Atienza, and David Keroack also placed fourth in the 4x400-relay with a time of 3:34.38.

In field events, Leo Brennan came in third in the long jump (6.41 meters) and fourth in the high jump (1.80 meters). Additionally, Mikael Gessesse placed third in the triple jump (12.94 meters), Charlie Anania matched that finish in the javelin (45.36 meters), and Latrell Fomby was fourth in the discus (42.07 meters).

The Captains will return to action on April 3 with the start of the Colonial Relays at William & Mary's Zable Stadium.

---ISH---