RAVEN ORANGE SETS TWO PR's AS MIDDLESEX TRACK & FIELD SHINES AT RIDER INVITATIONAL
Middlesex College Track & Field continued their fantastic season as four new athletes qualified for nationals at the Rider Invitational over the weekend.
Thomas Bell (Freshman/Monroe, NJ), Maurice Hernandez (Freshman/Old Bridge, NJ), Tonna Ogina (Freshman/Highland Park, NJ) and Matt Sutton (Sophomore/Lakewood, NJ) each punched their ticket to Utica with performances in the respective events, joining a host of other Colts who had already qualified.
""The team had a great day of competing," said Head Coach Chuck Schneekloth. "On the women's side, Raven Orange had a breakthrough meet, setting two big PRs to become the national leader in both hurdle events. Tonna has now qualified for nationals in both the long, triple, and high jump - an equally impressive feat."
Orange, the defending National Champion in the 400m hurdles, ran a 15.68 in the 100HH and a 66.40 in the 400IH, both personal bests.
Ogina's 10.26m Triple Jump qualified her for Nationals and is currently the fifth-best mark in the nation among NJCAA Division 3 female jumpers. Her high jump mark of 1.46m was good for eighth nationally and also placed her in the National Meet.
Bell and Hernandez ran a 61.85 and 61.96, respectively, in the 400m hurdles. Bell's time was good for 10th in the nation this year while Hernandez stands at #11.
Sutton, who qualified for the National Meet last year, currently sits 8th nationally in the triple jump with at 13.0m.
"On the men's side, Tom, Maurice, and Matt have been working hard toward hitting their national marks, so it was great to see them finally qualify," said Schneekloth. "Due to the high winds, we had to make some tough decisions about scratching from the 200m, but it paid off in that 4x400. To run the national leading time in that wind was an impressive feat, and they're now eying that 3:24 school record from 1974 and winning the national title in a few weeks."
As they have all year, the Men's 4x400 relay team has continued to dominate. The team of Bell, Hernandez, Jan Nolasco (Freshman/New Brunswick, NJ) and Jessi Jimenez (Freshman/Perth Amboy, NJ) ran a 3:25.96 at Rider, which is the top time nationally among NJCAA Division 3 schools.
Middlesex is scheduled to compete in the Lions Invitational this Saturday in their last regular season meet of the year.