The York men’s team dominated from the…
By Dylan Butler
It was a banner day for the York track and field teams Saturday at the Armory in Manhattan, as the men won their second straight CUNY crown, while the women finished second behind defending champions Lehman College.
The York men’s team dominated from the opening event to the finale. The Cardinals (117 points) won the running of the first ever distance medley relay and wrapped up their repeat performance with an easy triumph in the 4×400-meter relay.
Sophomore Khari White, a Jamaica High School grad, paced York with three gold medals, including the 1,500 meters (4:20.27), 5,000 meters (16:28.73) and distance medley relay to earn male MVP honors. Junior O’Neil Smiley added golds in the 400 meters with an NCAA qualifying time of 48.59, and the 4×400-meter relay. He added a silver medal in the 55-meter dash.
“It’s never easy, as we got points from everybody, that was the key to victory,” said York head coach Tom Pope. “Khari is just starting to develop as a distance runner and his potential is just coming full bloom.”
Medgar Evers came in second place with 99 points and Hunter College finished third with 52 points.
Led by sophomore Candace Mussenden, the Lady Cardinals were a close second to Lehman as the Lightning edged York, 121-117.
Mussenden had three gold medals (400m, long jump and 4×400-meter relay) while freshman Shakima Thomas had two gold medals (800m, 4×400-meter relay) and a silver medal (400m).
Hunter College finished third with 44 points.
SJU men’s swimming cap undefeated season
The St. John’s men’s swim team finished the season with a perfect 10-0 record in dual meet competition, marking the first undefeated season in the program’s 36-year history. The Red Storm men defeated Boston College, 185-99. The women finished their duel-met season with a 5-6 record after falling to the Eagles, 194-94.
The men won 12 individual events and both relays en route to the win. Winners included Michal Szapiel in the 1,000 free (10:11.07), Milos Cerovic in the 200 free (1:42.80), Karol Ciechanowski in the 100 Back (54.60), Greg Danner in the 200 Fly (1:56.72), Maciej Lewandowski in the 100 Breast (1:00.08) and the 200 Breast (2:10.13), Jerrod Janes in the 50 Free (21.83), Danilo Perunovic in the 100 Free (48.09), Daniel Miyoshi in the 200 Back (1:56.78), Glen Steacy in the 500 Free (4:47.97), Jaak Sawi in the 100 Fly (51.52) and Mike Broody in the 200 IM (2:01.59).
On the women’s side, Laura Nuudi won both the 100 Back (59.57) and 200 Back (2:08.35), while Melissa Kolackovsky won the 50 Free (25.33) and Jen Alger took first in the 200 IM (2:14.89).
Red Storm women take second at Met Track Championships
The St. John’s women’s track and field team placed second at the Metropolitan Championships Sunday at the Armory in Manhattan while the men finished fifth of 15 teams.
Sophomore Tiehise Shell from Hollis finished second in the 60-meter dash (7.70) to qualify for the Big East championships. Teammate Judy Williams finished fourth in a time of 7.83.
Senior Nicol Corsey won the 400 meters (55.20), finished second in the 200 meters (24.78) and third in the long jump (5.58m). She has qualified for the Big East championship in all three events.
Senior Tiffany Barnes, a Cardozo grad and Queens Village resident, won the 500 meter dash in 1:13.42, qualifying her for the ECAC and Big East championships.
Senior Dinah Mensah eclipsed her previous season-high in the 1,000 meters with a first-place time of 2:53.60, as she also qualified for the ECAC and the Big East.
Freshman Jen Lebowitz placed second in the 5,000 meters (18:27.32) and sixth in the 3,000 (10:45.08) while Alina Abramova easily won the triple jump with a Big East championship qualifying jump of 11.72 meters. She also qualified for the conference championship in the long jump (4.85 meters).
Men’s Basketball
Queens 70, Mercy 67. In his 100th career game, Steve Sikiric scored a game-high 22 points in the three-point win Saturday. Freshman Anthony Washington added 17 points for the Knights.
Brooklyn College 61, York 56. Michael Graham had 19 points and Rodney Adams added 13 for Brooklyn (3-16, 1-9 CUNY). Alex Malone had 21 points for York (9-10, 2-5).
Women’s Basketball
Queens 51, Mercy 46. Elena Rakova scored a game-high 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting and Kerri Graham had her second straight double-double as the Lady Knights opened up a 33-21 halftime lead to win their seventh straight.
Nassau Community College 75, Queensborough 34. Joanna Kielbiowski had 20 points and Mary McCue added 10 for Nassau (10-2, 6-1 Region XV). Queensborough falls to 2-8, 2-8.
York 53, Brooklyn College 34. Tamara Taylor had 14 points and six rebounds and Inesha Roberts added 14 points and 11 boards for York (12-1, 7-1 CUNY).
Villanova 63, St. John’s 52. The Red Storm trailed by as many as 17 in the second half, but made a late surge to cut the Wildcats lead to four, 54-50, before finally succumbing late.
Junior Rasheedah Brown had a team-high 15 points, marking the 19th straight game she has recorded double digits in scoring. Senior Latasha Thompson added 11 points and senior Katrina Johns and freshman Sherri Brown chipped in with 10 points apiece.
Villanova (15-5, 6-3) was led by Brandi Barnes, who was 7-for-12 from the floor for a game-high 20 points. The Wildcats outrebounded St. John’s 38-23.
Men’s Volleyball
York 30-30-32, John Jay 21-26-30. Marc Mel had 21 kills and Christakis Aristodemou had 42 assists to lead York in their season opener.
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
