FINAL RESULTS (ADKINS TIMING) | DAY ONE RECAP
NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Track and Field distance program had a strong day – both at 800 and 1,500 meters to wrap up the 2024 Jim Mize Invitational on Saturday at Louisiana Tech.
For the second time in her career
Alexandra Weir won an 800-meter race. After winning indoors at last season's Samford Invitational this time the Toronto native won outside. Weir ran a very controlled race, leading from start to finish, and took home first place with a time of 2:12.71 - winning by eight seconds over the next closest competitor.
Weir's effort helped the Privateer women place six inside the top-10 at 800 meters on Friday night.
Oxana Bonjorn-Giros finished third with a time of 2:20.32,
Anna Martin finished fifth with a time of 2:21.20,
Emma Bourg – fresh off of winning yesterday's 5K – finished sixth with a time of 2:21.97,
Irene Bonanomi finished seventh with a time of 2:23.33, and freshman
Agnes Danner finished eighth in her first collegiate outdoor race in 2:23.03.
The Privateer men also had second and third place finishes at 800 meters.
Cade Litolff finished second in 1:56.83, while
Mason Appleton set a new personal best and finished third with a time of 1:56.62 – an improvement of almost four seconds over his time at last season's Louisiana Classics.
The distance teams also had success at 1,500 meters. Freshman
Josh Johnston won the first outdoor race of his collegiate career on Saturday night in 4:09.32. After sitting in second for the majority of the race Johnston used a strong final push to overtake Jackson State's Ber`Narjay Jackson for the victory.
Christian Francisco finished the 1,500 in second place with a time of 4:11.05, just ahead of
Gary Sandrock who finished third in 4:11.86. Like Johnston, both Francisco and Sandrock made strong moves over the last 400 meters – Francisco moving from fourth to second, and Sandrock moving from fifth to third.
Michelle Folk finished the women's 1,500 in second place by fractions of a second over Abigail Pinnick of Arkansas Pine Bluff in 5:02.18. Folk steadily improved throughout the race sitting in sixth place at 300 meters, fourth place at the halfway point before moving up to second place with a split of 1:21.57 over the final 400 meters of the race.
Helen Baumgarten was busy all weekend competing in five events. Returning to action after missing the indoor season Baumgarten finished 11
th in the 200 with a time of 26.00, sixth in her first career long jump with a best jump of 5.29 meters, 13
th in her first career attempt at the javelin with a throw of 22.17 meters, and 19th in her first career attempt at the shot put with a throw of 6.72 meters. She also participated in the 4x400 meter relay for the Privateer women.
Alimot Alowonle took home second place in the triple jump after her fourth jump went 11.95 meters - .01 meters behind event winner Tia Reder of Louisiana Tech. Alowonle also finished third on Friday night in the 200 meter race.
Trace Williams set a new personal best by over two meters in the javelin to get things started on Saturday morning for the Privateers and finished fifth. Freshman
Tyler Mitchell also made his debut in the event with his best throw being his first – 38.79 meters.
The Privateers next travel to Baton Rouge on March 23 for the inaugural Keyth Talley Invitational. Coverage information will be made available closer to the event.
WE ARE YOUR KREWE
For 54 seasons, Privateer student-athletes have had the unique experience of wearing New Orleans across their chests. Like the city itself, our sports teams have been fueled by resiliency, grit, and the unquenchable desire to win. Our city also houses the nation's biggest celebration each year. And much like a Mardi Gras parade krewe, we are tethered to our community through pride, tradition, a culture of acceptance, and finally our commitment to show that New Orleans is a world-class city to live, learn, play, and work. We invite you to become more involved with the only University that truly represents New Orleans all day, every day. Join #NOLAsTeam, We Are Your Krewe!
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Keep up to date with everything New Orleans Cross Country and Track & Field. Follow
@PrivateersTFXC on Twitter/X,
@PrivateersTFXC on Instagram, like
/PrivateersTFXC on Facebook, and subscribe to the
PrivateerAthletics YouTube channel.
