Jones Resets 3,000m Steeplechase Record to Highlight Larry Ellis Invitational

Saturday, April 20

Princeton, NJ.

Temple University

Larry Ellis Invitational

Jones Resets 3,000m Steeplechase Record to Highlight Larry Ellis Invitational

4.20.19 | Women's Track and Field

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Temple University track and field squad had a stellar day of competition today at Princeton's Larry Ellis Invitational. The meet was highlighted by an abundance of personal best times across the team and a new program record in the 3,000m steeplechase by Lucy Jones.

Meet Highlights
> The sophomore duo of McKenzie Gelvin and Michelle Joyce got the day started for the Owls in good fashion, each placing in the top-10 in the unseeded portion of the 1500m. Gelvin finished the race in 4:42.45 for third in the field of 30, followed by Joyce finishing ninth with a time of 4:45.33.
> Sophomore Sydney Williams was a bright light in Cherry and White today in the 100m hurdles, advancing to finals where she ran the seventh-fastest time in the conference this season. She ran her fastest time of the season in the prelims, clocking in at 14.53 to advance to finals. Later in the day, she had her best-ever performance as an Owl to finish fifth with a PR of 14.28.
> In the long hurdles, Aisha Brown showed out with her best-ever performance in the event. The sophomore ran the 400m hurdles in 1:04.02 to earn a ninth place finish. Near behind her was Williams, who finished 12th with a time of 1:04.87.
> The trio of Mallorie Smith, Kayla Nesbitt-McEwen and Madison Beecher raced well in the 200m dash, all finishing within .07 of a second of one another. Smith clocked the fastest mark of the group at 25.53, followed by Nesbitt-McEwen and Beecher who tied at 25.60. Nesbitt-McEwen's mark was the fastest of her career at Temple.
> Sophomore Helene Gottlieb had a good showing in the 800m, finishing 12th overall with a time of 2:09.11. Sophomore Millie Howard and senior Ashton Dunkley also competed in the event, finishing in 2:12.93 and 2:17.10, respectively.
> Jones highlighted the day in the 3,000m steeplechase, improving upon her own school record by over three seconds and running her fastest time this season by over nine seconds. Clocking a time of 10:36.10, the sophomore ran the fifth fastest time in the AAC and placed fifth in an extremely competitive field at the Larry Ellis Invitational.
> Julianne Foering shined in javelin once again, resetting her personal-best with a solid series on the day. The sophomore threw the javelin 41.03-meters to earn fifth overall.

From the Coaches
> "It was a good day to have a good day," said assistant coach Tramaine Ellison (Jumps). "Coach Forde is at CARIFTA supporting Marissa, and he left the sprints, hurdles and jumps in my hands. I think they allowed themselves to be present in the day and throughout the competition. My job was to support them, and they did an excellent job of supporting each other. Julie started off the day with a personal best as the only field event athlete competing, and she had a solid series in javelin. I think she's found her flow, and I know she has more to show. Sydney managed herself well in both hurdle races, running two season's best times in the sprint hurdles today. She has been brave and trusting of her abilities. She always runs clean races, but now she is starting to run aggressive races. The 200 was a bright spot in the day in terms of how they responded to their competition. I think they realize they are ready to run faster times, asking good questions and wanting to learn, which shows that they are expectant because of where they are in their training."
> "The biggest highlight from the distance crew tonight was really Lucy Jones in the Steeplechase," said assistant coach James Snyder (Mid-distance/distance). "She knocked a few seconds off of her personal best and improved upon her own school record, which was great to see. It was a sizeable improvement from what she has run this year (about nine seconds), which will also put her in the conversation for the NCAA prelims. She came out and won her heat, took control of the race and really stayed focused and ran assertively. Across the board, the focus now shifts towards Penn Relays. Today was another opportunity to get a few races in here close to home, but Penn is always a meet that we look forward to."

Up Next
> The Owls will be back in action this Thursday, April 25 to compete at the 125th Penn Relays. The world renowned meet will run for three days, concluding on Saturday, April 27.