Both the men’s and women’s halves of the AU track and field team posted solid showings at Morgan State April 21, with multiple strong individual performances recorded at the meet.
Rinehardt runs to victory
“Dominating” would be a good word to describe Octavia Rinehardt’s performance, as the AU senior put forth the strongest performance of the day for the women’s team. Rinehardt raced to a first-place finish in the 1,500-meter run, crossing the finish line in 4:44.65 to earn 10 points for the Eagles. The senior finished more than two full seconds ahead of Pittsburgh’s Morgan Perry to pick up the victory.
Rachael Wolff was the other Eagle to compete in the 1,500-meter race, finishing in 15th out of 34 runners.
Other competitors for the AU women’s squad included Ali Tyburski (2:21.59) and Sarah Eyman (2:31.46), who placed 17th and 31st, respectively, in the 800-meter run.
Freshman Alexa Bolden came in 36th with a time of 26.90 in the 200-meter dash for an Eagle team that ranked 13th of 20 schools at the meet.
Delaware took home the overall team title, finishing 63 points ahead of second-place Morgan State.
Allen posts personal best
A collection of strong showings in the 1,500-meter run led the way for the men’s team at Morgan State. The Eagles presented a solid one-two punch in the race, with Mark Allen earning third place and John Pope registering a fifth-place finish.
Allen’s time of 3:57.35 was a personal best for the AU junior, while Pope’s time of 4:00.97 was good enough for the top five in a field of 35 runners.
Zach Wright put together another noteworthy performance on the day for the Eagles, when he came in fifth place in the high jump event.
Constantine Matsakis rounded out the notable times for the Eagles with a 21st-place finish in the 800-meter run.
Morgan State wrapped up a strong team outing at the event, earning first place in the men’s rankings to go along with its second-place honors in the women’s events. The University of Maryland-Eastern Shore finished second in the men’s competition.
Coming up next for the Eagles is the Penn Relays, one of the biggest meets in collegiate track and field. The relays will be held at Franklin Field in Philadelphia from April 26 to 28.
The following weekend will see the Eagles travel to Worcester, Mass., for the Patriot League Outdoor Championships, which get underway May 4.
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