Track and Field dominates Fred Harvey Invitational

Adam Cheek, Staff Writer

Track and Field took home 24 top-five finishes at the Fred Harvey Invitational in Richmond.

Women’s

The Rams stole the show in the throwing with three athletes placing in the top three.

Senior thrower Camora Sanders won the discus with a 48.65-meter throw. Sanders took the event by more than six meters, and fellow senior thrower Denise O’Rourke added a third-place launch in the same event. Junior thrower Samantha Yankson recorded a third-place hammer toss of 48.18 meters.

The Black and Gold continued dominating the field events, as two athletes placed in the top five in jumping.  

Sophomore multi-event runner Courtney Higgins finished in fifth place in the high jump with a vault of 1.55 meters. Junior hurdler Khoi Banks finished second in the long jump at 5.69 meters.

When it was time to hit the track, the Rams did not let up — five runners stood on the podium at the end of the meet.

Senior mid-distance runner Ashley Greenlee contributed another podium finish in the 800-meter run, finishing third with a time of more than two minutes, and junior mid-distance runner Ashley Brown finished seconds behind her. Senior mid-distance runner Nichelle Scott added a fourth-place effort in the event and a time of 2:10.67.

Junior distance runner Delaney Savedge finished second in the 3000, recording a time just over 11 minutes.

Senior hurdler Ann Sheehy finished third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time just over one minute.

Men’s

The Men’s team continued the Black and Gold’s dominance in the meet in the field events, as VCU placed seven times.

Freshman thrower Jaekob Vollbrecht emerged from the discus throw on Saturday with a victory. He placed first after catapulting the discus just under 50 meters. Sophomore Ebenezer Belayneh placed just behind him with a 45.73-meter throw.

Senior thrower Drew Hess recorded a javelin throw of 57.81 meters, an event-winning distance, while sophomore thrower Willie Schwartz won the hammer throw with a launch of 57.95 meters. Schwartz’s throw was more than seven meters farther than second place, while Vollbrecht followed Schwartz up with a 46.98-meter throw.

Vollbrecht’s mark was good enough for a second top-five finish for the Black and Gold. Belayeh added a second-place effort in the shot put with a 15.50-meter toss, and sophomore thrower Glen Yancey contributed a 14.09 fourth-place throw.

Sophomore jumper Xyan Xrichardson placed second with a 2-meter leap in the high jump.

Just as the women’s team brought the hardware home on the track, the men’s team did too with six athletes placing in the top-five of their events.

Junior hurdler Ian Davis took home a victory in the 110-meter hurdles with a 14.45 mark. Freshman sprinter Emmanuel Waller rounded out the top five with a 15.88 time.

Sophomore mid-distance runner Jordan Fountain added a fifth-place effort in the 800 with a time just under two minutes, and senior sprinter Justin West finished the same in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.50.

Sebastian Evans ended up fourth in the 400-meter hurdles; the freshman hurdler recorded a time just under 56 seconds. Junior distance runner Bryce Catlett finished the same in the 1500, recording a time just over 4 minutes.

The Rams will next travel to Jacksonville, Florida, for the UNF Invitational April 5.