JIMENEZ BREAKS 50-YEAR OLD SCHOOL RECORD, 10 COLTS QUALIFY FOR NATIONALS AT MONMOUTH INVITATIONAL
Jessi Jiminez broke a 50-year-old school record and ten Middlesex College athletes qualified for the NJCAA National Track Meet as the Colts had an outstanding performance at the Monmouth Invitational to begin their 2023 season.
Defending national champion Raven Orange (Sophomore/Carteret, NJ) ran a 26.47 in the 200m and a 62.11 in the 400m, each good for qualification for the national meet and currently the best and second best times in the nation on the NJCAA D3 level, respectively.
"Today's meet at Monmouth University was a big day for our program, our athletic department, and Middlesex College," said first-year Head Coach Chuck Schneekloth. "We have a group of incredibly hard-working student-athletes, and today's results are thanks to five months of hard pre-season training."
While the Colts had many fantastic times, Jimenez's performance on the day was eye-opening. In the 200m, Jimenez ran a time of 22.24, which broke a Middlesex College school record that was set by Booker Jones in 1973. Jones time, which stood for 50 years, was 22.3. The time is currently the best in the country on the NJCAAA D3 level.
Jimenez also ran a 50.94 in the 400m, currently the top time in the country in the NJCAA D3 level as well.
In addition to Jimenez and Orange, Angelo Botteon (Sophomore/Highland Park, NJ) was the third individual who qualified for the NJCAAA National Track Meet. Botteon ran a 2:04.27 in the 800m, a qualifying time that is currently good for third-best nationally.
The Colts also qualified their 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800 relay teams for nationals. They put up times of 44.77, 3:31.78 and 8:34.17, respectively. The 4x400 time is also currently the top time among 4x400 teams nationally.
"Our goal is to be one of the country's best NJCAA D3 track and field programs, and after setting four nationally-leading times today, we've taken a big step forward here," said Schneekloth. "Now we need to stay healthy and focused on the national championships in mid-May."
Middlesex will be back in action when they're scheduled to compete at the Ramapo Invitational on Saturday, April 1.