Women's Track & Field Competes at Lehigh Season Opener

Friday, December 2

Bethlehem, Pa.

All Day

Temple University

Lehigh Season Opener

Women's Track & Field Competes at Lehigh Season Opener

12.2.16 | Women's Track and Field

Bethlehem, Pa. - On Friday, Temple women's track & field traveled to Bethlehem, Pa. to compete at the Lehigh Season Opener hosted at Lehigh University. The Owls returned to North Philadelphia with two first-place finishes and a host of top-10 finishes.

"Our freshmen really gave an outstanding effort today," head coach Elvis Forde noted. "For this to be their first collegiate track & field meet, they showed me that there will be room for improvement. I was very happy with Mariah Slade especially as she did some great things in the 200 meter race. Each of them fought very hard."

In the first event of the night, Senior Simone Brownlee earned third place overall in the 60 meter hurdles after running a 9.06. Freshman Ebonee Jackson also slated a top-10 finish, completing the race in 9.07 and besting her heat competition by a landslide.

In the 60 meter dash, three Owls toed the line for Temple. Freshman Mariah Slade earned a spot in the top-10 as she finished the race with a time of 8.02. Senior Bionca St. Fleur trailed behind in 8.09. Freshman Cortlyn Raynes finished the dash in 9.03.

Next, three new members of the squad ran the 400 meter race. Freshmen Imani Peterson (1:01.94) and Madison Beecher (1:02.2) took fourth and fifth places, respectively, leaving them in the top-five overall. Junior walk-on Re'ona Pettway ran a time of 1:07.16.

In the 800 meter race, Freshman Jazmyne Williams earned a top-five finish after running a 2:21.90 to come in at no. 5.

The 200 meter race featured Jackson, Pettway, and Slade. Slade led the Owls, taking first place out of 53 runners, clocking a time of 26.27.

"Today I did pretty well," said Slade. "Although I did not reach a personal best, I am surprised at myself. My best event was the 200, but can definitely improve. As long as I have confidence in myself and trust in my training, I know I can get better."

Jackson also placed in the top-10 coming in 9th after finishing the race in 27.29. Pettway rounded out the squad finishing in 29 seconds.

Three Owls placed in the top-10 in the long jump. Senior Sydnee Jacques jumped a 17' 1.50" finishing fifth overall. St. Fleur recorded a 16' 10.50" to place eighth. Sophomore Crystal Jones finished ninth after a 16' 9.75" jump.

Temple raced two groups in the 4x400 meter relay with Senior Kenya Gaston, St. Fleur, Jones, and Williams finishing in 4:14.40 to get sixth place. Slade, Beecher, Jackson, and Brownlee finished their relay in 4:17.03 to earn eighth.

To close out the evening, Jacques topped 14 other participants when she jumped a 38' 4.75" in the triple jump, earning first place. Senior Simone Chapman also took on the event and placed fourth overall for her jump of 36' 2".

"Overall, we have to do our due diligence as coaches to get our team ready," said Forde. "In preparation for the next meet, I expect the team to focus more as a whole in order to take a further step in their performance."

Temple will next compete at the Seahawks Invitational in Ocean Breeze, N.Y. on Dec. 9.

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