Monmouth Men & Women Claim Fifth Straight MAAC Outdoor Championship
LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The Monmouth University Men and Women are the 2018 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Champions. This marks the fifth year in a row that both programs have claimed the MAAC crown.
The Monmouth men tallied 270 total points over 21 scored events. The Hawks earned medals in many of those events, taking gold in over ten. Monmouth was propelled by Ibrahim Massey who was named 2018 MAAC Men’s Most Outstanding Track Performer. Massey took gold in the 200-meter and 100-meter recording times of 21.73 and 10.74 respectively. He was also a part of the 4x100 relay team that took gold with a time of 41.70.
Monmouth’s Tim Jacoutot received MAAC Rookie of the Meet for track events as he took gold in the 400-meter hurdles and was a part of the winning 4x400 relay team that clocked in at 3:14.19. Jacoutot also helped Monmouth secure gold in the 4x100 relay.
Manhattan College’s Brenton Foster was named 2018 MAAC Men’s Most Outstanding Field Performer as he broke the high jump record with a mark of 2.15-meters, surpassing the previous record of 2.12 held by James Murray of Rider University. His teammate Eduard Winner was named MAAC Field Rookie of the Meet, the same award he received during the 2018 MAAC Indoor Championships, as he took gold in the pole vault with a height of 5.12-meters.
Finishing behind Monmouth in second place was Rider with 165 overall points. Manhattan finished third with 150 points and Iona College finished fourth with 129 points. Marist College edged Saint Peter’s University for sixth place 30 points to 29. Rounding out the men’s field was Siena College who finished seventh with 22 points and Canisius College in eighth with 17 total points.
On the women’s side Monmouth outscored the field by 100.5 as they totaled 261 points. The Hawks medaled in 18 events, receiving gold in 11 of them. Allie Wilson lead the way for the Hawks as she earned gold in the 1500-meter and 800-meter runs. Wilson set a new MAAC record in the 1500 (4:24.12) clocking in four seconds under the previous record set by Iona’s Maya Rehberg back in 2014 (4:28.06). Wilson’s performance earned her 2018 MAAC Women’s Most Outstanding Track Performer.
The 2018 MAAC Most Outstanding Field Performer is Monmouth’s Allison Taub. Taub earned gold with a throw of 14.31-meters in the shot put and silver in the discus with a toss of 45.53-meters. Teammate Danielle Steff was named 2018 MAAC Rookie of the Meet for field events after she set a mark of 48.96 in the javelin to receive gold.
Monmouth’s Kyra Velock and Rider’s Joshonda Johnson shared 2018 MAAC Rookie of the Meet honors for track events for their performances this weekend. Velcok was a member of the 4x800 relay team that received gold with a time of 8:57.05, she also placed third in the 1500 (4:28.48). Johnson was the final leg of the 4x400 for Rider as the Broncs placed first in the event crossing the line in 3:55.32.
Three other records were broken along with Allie Wilson’s 1500-meter record on Sunday. The women’s 4x100 relay team of Monmouth’s Ashley McKinnon, Viviane Orleans, Iyanna Jenkins, and Domoah Kutu-Akoi set a new meet record when they finished in 46.53 taking down the record set in 2014 also set by Monmouth. The next record to fall was in the women’s 100-meter hurdles where Sarah Gardner took down Jessica Lee’s record of 13.65 that was set in the prelims on Saturday, with a time of 13.41. Monmouth’s Kutu-Akoi also set a new record in the 100-meter dash (11.89) breaking a record that had stood for 11 years (Manhattan’s Diane Torsell: 11:94).
Finishing in second place behind Monmouth was Rider who tallied 160.50, followed by Manhattan with 109 points. Iona placed fourth and Quinnipiac University placed fifth with 99 and 96.50 points respectively. In seventh, Siena College finished with 16 points, Niagara University places eighth with 16 points. Saint Peter’s recorded eight points for ninth place and Canisius earned five to finish in tenth.
MAAC institutions will compete at the ECAC/IC4A Championships in Princeton, New Jersey on May 12-13.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 37
th year of competition during the 2017-18 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's University, and Siena College.