April 14, 2012 -- Johns Hopkins Invitational

Post date: Apr 29, 2012 11:23:52 PM

The Captains caught a very early bus to Baltimore for the Johns Hopkins Invitational where they once again scored several Personal Records and made seven more changes to the All-Time Lists.

Hansen Claims Four Victories In Baltimore

22 More PRs Set At Johns Hopkins Invitational

After a week off from competition for most of the squad, the Captains traveled north to Baltimore for the Johns Hopkins Invitational. The meet has grown significantly in the last two years and along with a few local schools, much of the Capital Conference joined the Captains at the 2012 edition to make for deep, competitive fields.

Senior standout Dira Hansen (Culpeper, VA) took aim at four individual events on the day and earned four wins. On the track, she took her first run at the 400m Hurdles where she was an All-American in 2011. It was a success - her 63.01 won the event and ranked #5 on the Div. III List heading in to the weekend. Hansen also toured the track in 58.54 seconds without the hurdles to score another 10 points. On the infield, she won both the Long Jump (5.12m/16-9.75) and Triple Jump (11.23m/36-1.25), too, as she set up her Conference events.

Behind Hansen, sophomore Caitlin Miller (Huntington, NY) completed a 1-2 sweep in the Triple Jump (10.82m/35-6) and was one of four Captains in the Long Jump finals with a PR 4.81m/15-9.5 effort. Olivia Green (Fairfax, VA) also PRed at 4.93m/16-2.25 and Cheria Jackson (Woodbridge, VA) landed a 4.99m/16-4.5 jump. Hansen had teammates running lifetime bests behind her on the track, too, as Enuma Ezenwa (Herndon, VA) PRed over the long hurdles (68.27) and Taylor McCord (Springfield, VA) ran a PR 61.74 in the flat 400m. Senior Kristen Bell (Vienna, VA) added a 60.66 lap in her season debut.

In the half-lap, McCord earned another PR 28.59 behind fellow freshman Caitlyn Pabst's (East Patchogue, NY) 27.46 PR. It was a good day for the CNU rookies as Brittney House (Midlothian, VA), earned a five second PR in the 800m at 2:28.39 and Sarah Russell (Manassas, VA) dropped twelve from her Steeplechase best (12:49.61 - CNU #6 All-Time). In the field events, Ezenwa matched her sophomore teammate Jenna Elliott's (Fredericksburg, VA) clearance in the High Jump (1.55m/5-1) and now ranks #10 on the CNU All-Time List.

In the Pole Vault, Kalee Hammerton (Royersford, PA) virtually matched her two-week-old PR at 3.34m/10-11.5 to win the event. Freshman Lauren Snell (Chesapeake, VA) moved her collegiate best up a couple inches to 3.19m/10-5.5 and improved her #5 standing on the CNU List. Rashidat Omotosho (Alexandria, VA) added another rookie PR in the Hammer with a four meter improvement (30.10m/98-9).

Jade Zaharoff (Vienna, VA) scored a PR for the seniors - her first sub-5 run in the 1500m also landed her on the CNU All-Time List at #10 (4:59.02).

After Hansen fittingly anchored the Captains to a second place finish in the 4x400m Relay (4:05.21), the squad had amassed 104.5 points on the day for a third place finish behind Towson University (274.5) and host Johns Hopkins (129).

Dira Hansen

Jonathon Wade

The men's squad had a little more difficulty scoring - finishing fourth with 89 points - but had several highlights nonetheless. Seniors Kwarteng Asare (Fairfax, VA) and Jonathon Wade (Rocky Mount, VA) led the way with a win in the Triple Jump for Asare (13.93m/45-8.5) and a runner-up finish in the Hammer for Wade. Wade's 44.41m/145-8 improved his #5 ranking on the CNU All-Time List by seven feet. He also led the Captains in the Discus with a PR 38.40m/126-0 toss. Freshman Nolan McDowell (Mount Sidney, VA) was close behind with a PR 36.46m/119-7.

Freshman Kendrick McMinn (Virginia Beach, VA) made a five meter improvement in his second Javelin competition. At 46.06m/151-1, he is now #8 on the CNU List. Wilson Bever (Chantilly, VA) also landed a new best with the spear at 40.94m/134-4. Richard Roethel (Farmingville, NY) kept the throws momentum going in the Shot Put with a PR 13.20m/43-3.75 effort that moved him on to the All-Time List at #10. He also paired with fellow junior Joseph Taylor (Prince George, VA) to finish 2-3 in the Pole Vault. Taylor cleared 4.41m/14-5.5 before taking jumps at his PR 4.56m in his outdoor debut. Roethel's clearance was just a centimeter shy of his best outdoor height (4.26m/13-11.75).

Roethel's only track events were the relays. He teamed up with Daulton Teaford (Boyce, VA), Robert Mayes (Culpeper, VA), and Nathan Joyce (Ft. Belvoir, VA) to carry the baton around one lap in 42.20 seconds and a runner-up finish. In the four lap relay, Mayes led off for the "B" team and surprised Matt Gaddy (Stafford, VA) and the "A" squad with a 50.9-51.5 edge. Joyce brought the "A" team back to even against Samuel Martin (Rockville, MD) 50.3-50.9. Disaster hit the "A" team with a baton drop on the second exchange while Asare lit out for another 50.9 lap for the "B" team. Wilson Bever closed for the "B" squad (52.5) and crossed the line fourth at 3:25.19. Roethel anchored the "A" team and gained a bit of ground with a 50.5 carry (3:27.99).

In between the relays, Martin backed up his recent 1500m PR with a 4:01.63 run - just a second slower. Fellow rookie Daniel Richard (Manassas, VA) dropped his Steeplechase best to 10:21.89 and held off Daniel Austin's (Culpeper, VA) PR 10:23.67 and Bradley Turner's (Jamestown, VA) debut 10:30.58. Connor Johnson (Fredericksburg, VA) cracked two minutes for the first time with 1:59.85 in the 800m. Brian Huffman (Charlottesville, VA) returned to form with a 1:59.90 and Andrew Larkin (Herndon, VA) dropped two seconds off his best to 2:03.41.

The New Captain's Classic & Combined Events meet is up next and will be the final team tune-up for the Mason-Dixon Outdoor Championships.

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