EAST STROUDSBURG – Highlighted by senior Nickolina Annelli shattering the school record in the pole vault, the East Stroudsburg University women's track and field team won three events at 24th Annual DeSchriver Invitational on Sunday inside Koehler Fieldhouse and the Zimbar Gymnasium.
On her way to a first-place finish in the pole vault, Annelli surpassed her own school record and notched an NCAA provisional mark as the Lansdale native cleared the bar at 3.70m (12-1 ¾) on her second attempt.
Also capturing titles for ESU was graduate student Destiny Thompson in the 55m dash for the second straight year and junior Samiyah Little in the weight throw.
The Warriors tallied three more PSAC automatic qualifying times and marks which included Aaliyah Cancel (400m), Reese Ruggiero (pole vault) and Madison Horahan (shot put) in their respective events.
Running Highlights
The Warriors had four runners finish in the top-10 of the 55m including Thompson taking the crown with a time of 7.17. Freshman Chloe Domurat was fourth at 7.51 and junior Kayla Horning was right behind in fifth with a time of 7.51. Freshman Makayla Smith rounded out the finishes in ninth place after crossing the line in 7.68.
Starting off the track events with the 5000m, sophomore Alycia Smith took ninth after clocking a time of 21:13.99.
In the 55m hurdles, Smith took third with a time of 8.89 and a busy day for senior Elyssa Pemu continued with a seventh place finish at 9.43.
In the 400m, Cancel notched a third place finish after crossing the line in PSAC automatic qualifying time of 1:00.53 and fellow classmate Anna Roth took 12th at 1:05.77.
Freshman Abigail Kolb highlighted the 800m for the Warriors with a third-place finish at 2:36.17 and junior Carolina Kaczmarek took eighth after clocking a time of 2.46.59.
In the 200m, Domurat finished as the runner-up after winning Heat 2 with a time of 26.49 and Horning took fourth with a season-best time of 26.72. Smith concluded the finishes for ESU in eighth place at a personal-best mark of 27.59.
Field Event Highlights
ESU dominated the weight throw as the Warriors earned five of the top-10 finishers led by Little with a toss of 16.95m (55-7) on her second attempt. Sophomore Sarah Roth finished fourth with a personal-best throw of 13.84m (45-5) and junior Madison Horahan was right behind in fifth at 13.78m (45-3). Freshman Bailey Grassman increased her personal-best mark to 11.56m (37-11) while taking eighth and senior Olivia Sforza rounded out the top-10 at 11.30m (37-1) in indoor season debut.
The Warriors claimed the top-3 spots in the pole vault as Annelli took home the title with her school record and NCAA provisional performance of 3.70m (12-1 ¾). Fellow classmate Heather Gaughran was the runner-up after surpassing 3.45m (11-3 ¾) and Ruggiero finished third with a conference qualifying and personal-best height of 3.30m (10-10).
Returning to the throws area for the shot put, Horahan delivered a conference qualifying and season-best toss of 12.14m (39-10) to finish as the runner-up, while Roth took ninth at 9.55m (31-4).
In the high jump, Pemu notched a seventh place finish after eclipsing the bar at 1.53m (5-0 ¼) on her first attempt.
Samantha Rosado paced a trio of Warriors in the long jump as the freshman finished fifth with a personal-best leap of 5.11m (16-9 ¼). Freshman Anna Roth competed the top-10 at 4.71m (15-5 ½) and Pemu took 11th place with a mark of 4.57m (15-0). Competing unattached ESU's Kamya Edmonds won the event after leaping 5.63m (18-5 ¾).
Rosado back in the sand pit for the triple jump where she finished just shy of a PSAC automatic qualifying mark with a personal-best leap of 10.84m (35-6 ¾).
Up Next
ESU will have one final tune up prior to the PSAC Indoor Championships (Feb 18-19) as the Warriors travel to the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex for the Fastrack National Invite on Friday, February 9
