Asimou Gets NCAA Automatic Qualifying Mark; Tumson ECAC Bound as Indoor Track Competes at Great Dane Classic

New York, NY (1/23/10) – Senior Eugene Asimou (Livingston, NJ / Livingston) posted an automatic mark in the shot put and broke his own school record while junior Judline Tumson (Newark, NJ / Arts) earned a spot in the ECAC Championships in the 55 meters as the Montclair State men’s and women's indoor track and field teams competed at the Great Dane Classic held at The Amory.

Junior Will Brown (Gloucester, NJ / Palmyra) put his name on the provisional list for the NCAA Division III Championships as he captured the 55 meter hurdles helping the MSU men to a 14th-place finish which was tops of among all Division III entries in the field of 27 teams.

Asimou, who missed most of last year with an injury, posted a qualifying mark for the second straight meet however this one will send him to the national championship meet in March at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. Asimou placed second in the shot put with a throw of 16.81 meters (55 feet, two inches), .06 better than the automatic qualifying mark of 16.75 meters. He also broke his own school record of 54-feet, 9.5-inches set during the 2008 NCAA Division III Championships.Mario Morrison-Bird (West Orange, NJ / West Orange) was 11th in the event at 13.67 meters (44-feet, 10.25-inches) with Jon Tancer (Montville, NJ / Montville) placing 13th at 13.39 meters (43-feet, 11.25 inches).

Tumson posted a time of 7.53 seconds in the 55 meters as she placed 34th. The time was .01 ahead of the qualifying standard and send Tumson to the ECAC Championships which will be held on March 5-6 at Smith College in Northampton, MA.

Brown, the defending NCAA champion in the 55 meter hurdles will get a chance to defend his crown as he won the event. Competing in his first meet this season, Brown posted a time of 7.67 which put him on the provisional list. He would best that mark in the finals as he ran 7.57, just .02 off the automatic qualifying time. Senior Adenford Jean-Philippe (Irvington, NJ / Irvington) placed fifth in the event going 7.84 in the prelims and 7.80 in the finals. His time was just .06 off a making the provisional list.

Brown then ran the leadoff leg of the 4x400 relay as he teamed with Terry Iavarone (North Arlington, NJ / North Arlington), Eric Gershey (Parsippany, NJ / Parsippany Hills) and Tim Duwhite, Jr., (Passaic, NJ / Passaic) to place 23rd with a time of 3:27.64.

Junior Farida Jawando (Colts Neck, NJ / Monmouth Regional) placed 19th in the 800 meters . Jawando posted a time of 2:25.94 as she was the lone Division III competitor in the event. Katherine Tallaj (Paramus, NJ / Immaculate Heart) was 42nd in the 55 hurdles with a time of 9.65.

MSU also ran a pair of entries in the 4x400 meter relay. Jawando anchored the first time with a time of 4:21.85. Joining her in that quartet were Ashadaya Patterson (Trenton, NJ / North Burlington), Leah McClish (Old Bridge, NJ / Old Bridge) and Laura Florez (Hackensack, NJ / Immaculate Heart). The second team of Nicole Galipo (Clarksburg, NJ / Allentown), Evelyn Sha (East Brunswick, NJ / East Brunswick), Ashley Powell (Orange, NJ / Marylawn of the Oranges) and Tallaj registered a time of 4:31.01.

Freshman Niyi Adenugba (North Brunswick, NJ / North Brunswick) finished 13th in the triple jump as he recorded a best leap of 13.63 meters (44-feet, 8.75-inches). Ricardo Thomas (Pennsauken, NJ / Pennsauken) had a time of 6.74 in the 55 meters.

Montclair State is off until February 5-6 when the Red Hawks take part in the New Balance Invitational at The Armory and the DeScrhiver Invitational held at East Stroudsburg University.

Article Created:
January 23 2010
Article Last Edited:
January 25 2010