11 Victories Shine on Senior Day as Track & Field Dominates at Delaware Invitational

Friday, April 5

Newark, Del.

10:30 AM

University of Delaware

Delaware Invite

Photo by: Mikey Reeves

11 Victories Shine on Senior Day as Track & Field Dominates at Delaware Invitational

4/6/2024 7:33:00 PM | Track & Field

Results Photo Gallery

NEWARK, Del. - 55 degrees Fahrenheit with 17 mph winds without any rain in the forecast is an improvement from last year's track meet in Newark, as the University of Delaware track & field team hosted the Delaware Invitational on Saturday, April 6, from Stuart & Suzanne Grant Stadium. The Blue Hens reign supreme as the squad captured victory in 11 events and set 15 personal-best times/marks with Alicia Lehman-Woodyard, Kosie Nkwonta and Rachel Schmitt rewriting the school's history books in their respective events.

Before the start of the meet, the six-member senior class of 2024, Carolyn Coletti, Destiny DeBlock, Jahnia Hodge, Lehman-Woodyard, Nkwonta and Halima Scott were honored for their commitment and contributions to the Track & Field program.

HEN HIGHLIGHTS
Track events

Coletti opened the home meet by running a personal-best time of 12:08.60 in everyone's favorite race, 3000m steeplechase, capturing first place in the event. Coletti shaved :01.03 off her previous PR time, 12:09.63.
The 4x100m relay squad (Victoria Henry, Taylor Johnson, Hodge & Jacquelyn Rolle) finished the race in third with a time of 52.04.
Marissa Dailey won the 1,500m with a time of 4:44.97. Behind Dailey running PR times were: Kadence Dumas, 5:01.86 (second place), Stephanie Herrera, 5:06.74 (fourth place), Katie Kuhlman, 5:08.01 (sixth place). Tiffany Herrera (5:06.62, third place) and Libby DeMichele (5:09.69, seventh place) also saw action in the race.
Headlining the 100m hurdles was Jayde McDermid, who clocked a time of 14.86 to finish in second place. Lehman-Woodyard followed behind with a time of 14.95 (fourth place) while Sarah Sharp (15.84) and DeBlock (16.04) finished in sixth and eighth, respectively.
In the 100m, Johnson was the winner with a time of 12.04. Behind her was Hodge in third (12.22), Rolle in fourth (12.23), Henry in fifth (12.27), Chali Baumann in 12th (12.97) and Madison Shaffery in 17th (13.62).
The freshman, Marissa Mauro, made her outdoor debut leading the way in the 800m. Mauro won the event with a PR time of 2:24.91 and Jenna Scandale followed with a fourth-place finish (2:27.86), Kuhlman with a seventh-place finish (PR-2:35.57) and DeMichele came in ninth place (PR-2:42.77).
Alexa Dougherty was the lone Blue Hen competing in the 400mH. She captured third place with a PR time of 1:05.92.
Scott won the 200m with a time of 24.81. Followed behind Scott in the 200m was Johnson, 25.24 (third overall), 25.34 (fourth overall), Lauren Leath, 25.49 (sixth overall), McDermid, 25.65 (eighth overall), Sara Manson, 27.31 (13th overall) and Baumann, 27.46 (16th overall).
Dailey, Tiffany Herrera, Stephanie Herrera, and Coletti led the way in the 4x400m and posted a time of 4:19.87, finishing the outing in third place.

Field events

Nkwonta wins the hammer throw with a PR mark of 56.95m. Her new mark now sits second in UD history. Mackenzie Stephens finished in third with a PR throw of 49.12m.
The rook in Schmitt did not disappoint in the javelin throw. Her personal-best throw of 39.68m led her to win the event and have her mark sit 10th in school history. Lehman-Woodyard (25.73m, 14th place) and Sharp (18.72m, 20th place) also set personal-best marks in the event.
In the long jump, Lehman-Woodyard leaped for 5.55m (second place) while Baumann (PR-4.94m) and Manson (PR-4.85m) finished in eighth and ninth place, respectively.
Lehman-Woodyard celebrated senior day in elite fashion by leaping over a personal-best 1.62m bar to win the high jump. Her mark now sits tied for eighth in school history.
Hodge won the triple jump with a leap of 11.42m while Mason captured fifth place thanks to a leap of 10.37m.
Nkwonta concluded the Blue Hens outing by claiming victory in the shot put, thanks to a throw of 12.78m. DeBlock saw her shot put fly through the air for 9.48m, which was good enough for 11th place.

GAME NOTES

This is the most events that the Blue Hens have won in a single meet this season
15 Blue Hens competed at Delaware Invitational for the first time in their careers, 12 being freshmen.
This was Nkwonta's third straight meet headlining the Blue Hens in the shot put and hammer throw.
Five of the six seniors captured victory in their individual events, headlined with Scott (200m, 400m) and Nkwonta (hammer, shot put) winning two each

UP NEXT
The Blue Hens will return to action next weekend, April 12-13, at the two-day Larry Ellis Invitational, hosted by Princeton University from Weaver Stadium. The first event is tentatively scheduled for a 2 p.m. start.

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL
For the latest on Delaware cross country/track & field, follow the Blue Hens on X, Instagram, and like on Facebook.