Results
STATEN ISLAND, NY – Competing for the first time in more than a month, the Manhattan College men's and women's indoor track & field teams showed no signs of rust at the Spartan Regional Invitational on Friday afternoon. Blerim Pocesta (Staten Island, NY) set an Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex facility record in the men's weight throw while earning one of the Jaspers' 11 event victories on the day.
Pocesta got out to 20.39 meters (66 feet, 10¾ inches) in the weight throw, breaking the facility mark previously held by teammate Love Litzell (Ostersund, Sweden). He also qualified him for the U.S. Indoor Championships with that effort. Hayden Clarke (Townsville, Australia) won the long jump with a leap of 7.20 m (23'7½), while Bobby Gebhard (Saddle River, NJ) qualified for the IC4A Championships with a second-place mark of 7.03 m (23'0¾).
On the track, John Dove (Monroe, NY) and Rory Hannigan (West Babylon, NY) went 1-2 in the 800 meters. Dove registered a 1:56.50 clocking, while Hannigan's time was 1:58.06. In the mile, meanwhile, the Jaspers secured the top three places. Liam O'Brien (Clifton Park, NY) was first in 4:23.21, while Nick Matson (Clifton Park, NY) took second (4:24.89) and Nicolas O'Brien (Clifton Park, NY) finished third in 4:29.50.
Manhattan also performed well in the relays. The Jasper men took first in the 4x200, 4x400 and distance medley relays, with the DMR “B” team grabbing third place. In the women's DMR, Manhattan secured first and second. The Jaspers added another second-place showing in the women's 4x400 and placed third in the women's 4x800 relay.
In the individual 200 meters, Jasmine Davis (Ronkonkoma, NY) earned the win in a time of 25.44 seconds. Paige Chapman (Abingdon, MD) was second in the 60 meters (7.75), while Mikeisha Kelly (Albany, NY) placed second in the 400 meters (59.32).
Ellinor Persson (Taby, Sweden) took second in the 60 meter hurdles (9.13) and led a 1-2 sweep in the long jump with a mark of 5.48 m (17'11¾). Charlene Pohl (Bisingen, Germany) took second behind Persson with a 5.33 m (17'6) leap. Marisa Robbins (Goshen, NY), meanwhile, cleared 3.56 m (11'8) to secure first place in the women's pole vault.
The Jaspers are back in action next weekend with a pair of meets. Manhattan will return to the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex for the NYC Gotham Cup on Friday, while one of two home meets on the schedule, the Brother Jasper Invitational, is scheduled for Saturday at Draddy Gymnasium.
