Yankson shines in hammer throw, Rams run rampant Fred Hardy Relay Invitational
KINGSTON, RI - FEBRUARY 21: Zayd Abdul-Ali #499 of VCU and Nicholas Buckingham #502 of VCU compete during the menÕs 4x400-meter relay during Day 2 of the Atlantic 10 Indoor Track and Field Championships at Mackal Field House at the University of Rhode Island on February 21, 2016, in Kingston, Rhode Island. (Photo by Daniel Petty/Atlantic 10)
Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in the Fred Hardy Relay Invitational in Richmond over the weekend. The Rams had multiple top 10 finishes in separate categories over the course of the two-day event.
Sophomore Samantha Yankson put on a show in the women’s hammer throw, beating out all opponents and finishing first. Her overall distance on the winning throw was 46.89 meters — six meters more than the second place finisher.
In the women’s 100 meter hurdles senior Olivia Coopwood placed top three. Coopwood finished shy of first by just one second, as she finished with a time of 14.70.
Another top three finish for the lady Rams came in the high jump. Senior Amiaya Carey placed third with a high jump of 1.6 meters.
The men were no slouches when it came time for them to compete — they matched the excellence and performance the women put forth on days one and two.
In the men’s 800 meter run VCU had two top 10 finishes. Sophomores Jordan Fountain and Matthew Pittman placed top ten in this event, tied for third and tied for eighth, respectively. Fountain achieved his personal best in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:56.
In the men’s 400 meter hurdles the Black and Gold had a freshman place top 10. Thomas Bradley finished seventh in the grouping with a time of 58.45.
To end the invitational, VCU had two Rams finish side by side in the 1500 meter run. Senior Bismillah Alidost and redshirt-freshman James De La Rama finished 10th and 11th, respectively.
Next week both teams will be traveling to Williamsburg to take part in the Colonial Relays April 5-7.
Nile McNair, Contributing Writer