Philadelphia, PA (4/29/11) – The Montclair State women's outdoor track and field team can now add the 4x200 meter relay record to their credit as the Red Hawks broke the 29-year old mark at the Penn Relays on Friday.

The four-member group of Ashley Powell (Orange, NJ / Marylawn of the Oranges), Heather Gearity (Rutherford, NJ / Rutherford), Antoinetta Altilio (Rutherford, NJ / Rutherford) and Ashadaya Patterson (Trenton, NJ / Northern Burlington) posted a time of 1:44.08, breaking the 1982 mark of 1:46.60.

On Thursday, Gearity posted an automatic qualifying time for the NCAA Division III Championships in the 400 meter hurdles Gearity punched her ticket for next month’s NCAA Championships in Delaware, OH  at Ohio Wesleyan University. Gearity recorded the fastest time in Division III this season as she covered the distance in a time of 1:01.21 seconds, eclipsing the automatic mark of 1:02.00. She finished first in her section.

Gearity would then help the Red Hawks’ 4x100 relay team to a first-place finish in their section. Gearity, Patterson, Altilio and Powell put up a time of 49.64 seconds. The same quartet set a new school record in the event at the Roadrunner Express on April 22.