STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (Dec. 2, 2022) - Georgian Court Track and Field officially got their season underway Friday afternoon. The Lion men and women competed at the Fasttrack Season Opener at Ocean Breeze on Staten Island and saw a bunch of national qualifiers, personal-bests and all-time top-10 marks.

Sprints and Hurdles
• Georgian Court hurdlers and short sprinters had themselves a great day, however results remain unofficial because of some technical difficulties with the timing equipment. All five hurdlers set personal-bests, Julia Kirschnick, Shalom Adzakro, Jaison-Ashley Pleva, Jan Volkmar and Julian Rodriguez. 
• That's where the biggest hangup seemed to be, with the hurdlers. After some deliberation, Noah Roach took a fifth place finish in the 60m dash after running 7.31 in the finals. He qualified by running 7.08 in the prelims. 
• Yanela Bohorquez-Gonzalez and Samantha Lonseth ran the 60m dash for the women. Bohorquez-Gonzalez just missed qualifying for finals running 8.09 to finish eighth. Lonseth ran in the open race where she finished third with a time of 8.40.
• Bohorquez-Gonzalez also led the Lions in the 200m dash. She set an indoor personal-best running 26.81 to finish 12th.
• Running in her first collegiate race, Molly Burns was the only Lion in the women's 400m dash. She placed 25th overall in 1:08.98.
• Another freshman, Aamere McKethan, led the Lion men in the quarter mile. He crossed the line in 14th place with a time of 54.13.
• Wayne Robinson and Noah Roach each finished in the top-10 in the 200m dash. Robinson set an indoor PR and moved to third all-time at GCU with his time of 22.45. Roach was eighth running 22.89. 

Jumps
• The long jump saw the first event win for GCU. Aniyah Russell, the ECC Preseason Athlete of the Year, won the event with a mark of 19-2.25. She led the competition from her first attempt and her best mark came on her second.
• Two Lions making their debuts cracked the all-time top-10 list. Shalom Adzakro finished eighth jumping 16-9.25 which puts her eight all-time at GCU.
• Transfer Malama Toure set a personal-best jumping 17-5 which put her fourth in the competition and sixth all-time at Georgian Court.
• In the triple jump, Shanae Rayside's best mark was her first. She jumped 36-10.25 on her first attempt which was good for third place. 
• Elena Martinez-Rodriguez and Jaison-Ashley Pleva took fourth and sixth place, setting indoor personal-bests. Martinez-Rodriguez jumped 36-2.75 and Pleva 25-10. 
• Julia Kirshnick's day wasn't finished with the hurdles. She tied for first place in the pole vault clearing 10-4.
• Elena Martinez-Rodriguez cleared 5-1 in the high jump to finish in second place. 
• In the men's jumps, Dylan Breen finished fourth overall jumping 21-4.75 in the long jump. His best jump came on his final attempt.
• Jeshurun Devero was the winner in the men's triple jump. He bettered his own school record and hit an NCAA provisional mark in the process with his leap of 47-8.75.
• Julian Rodriguez led the Lion vaulters as he cleared 13-1.5 to finished in a tie for seventh place in the event.

Throws
• Robbie Babson was the top finisher in the men's shot put. He threw 50-6.25 on his final throw, improving by nearly three feet. He also finished fifth in the weight throw with a mark of 46-10.
• Jan Volkmar set a personal-best in the event throwing 44-0.25 and finished in fourth place. He moved into the GCU all-time top-10 in the event in ninth place.
• Elena Keck was out in front for the Lion women throwers. She was 11th in the shot put throwing 32-9.25 and 13th in the weight throw at 34-9. 

Distance
• Freshman Sean Donnamaria took a top-10 finish in the 800m run. He crossed the line in 2:04.47 for 10th overall.
• Brenna Sullivan ran 12:00.49 for the 3K in her first collegiate track race to finish 12th. 
• Alec Valle ran the 5K and finished 13th in 16:15.91, which is fourth all-time for the Lions. 

That's it for GCU in the year 2022. They're back on the track after the New Year, Jan. 14 at the TCNJ Indoor Invite.