Kaydian Reid broke the St. John’s indoor track and field record in the 400 meters Friday at the New Balance Invitational at the 168th Street Armory in Manhattan.
Reid clocked in at 53.69 seconds, which beats Shernette Hyatt-Davis’ record of 53.96 set in 2004. Reid’s time is a personal best and ranks her in the top 10 in the NCAA.
The St. John’s track and field team finished second at the Metropolitan Championships on Sunday at the 168th St. Armory in Manhattan. The Red Storm finished the day with 125 points, just 41 points behind first-place Rutgers.
Blessing Egwu won both the 20-pound weight throw and the shot put with throws of 19.31 meters and 15.07 meters, respectively. This marked Egwu’s seventh first-place finish in the weight throw this season and her best shot put performance this year.
Jasmine Barreto took first in the 1000-meter run. She recorded her best time this season at 2:54.30.
In the 400 meters, Maxcine Foster clocked in at 55.38, which gave her the lead overall.
Alecia Sewell finished the 60 meter dash at 7.63, her best time this season.
The 4×400 meter relay team crossed the line in 3:43.31, which is the best performance in the Big East conference so far this year.
Kaydian Reid captured seventh place in the 400-meter dash, clocking in at 54.56.
Reid’s time in the preliminary heat of 53.69 qualified her for the NCAA Championships and the U.S. Track and Field Championships. It also set a St. John’s record. Two former Red Storm runners also had strong performances.
Kerrian Stewart and DeWayne Barret each competed in the 400-meter open run.
Stewart clocked in at 53.89 for third place in the women’s race while Barret crossed the line in 46.46 for second in the men’s. Barret’s time is the third fastest in the world on a 200-meter banked track.
His performance is also the fastest time by a Jamaican during the indoor season, which qualifies him for the World Indoor Championships in Moscow this March.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
In its first contest of the 2006 season, the Red Storm won against the Binghamton Bearcats 6-1 on Saturday. In the No. 1 position, Nataly Tumsevica defeated Jelena Koprivica, 7-5, 6-0.
Mariana Chachua, Lauren Lorenzetti and Alison Adamski also earned victories in the event. All singles victories came in two sets.
In the doubles, No. 2-positioned Barbora Blahutiakova and Mariana Chachua defeated Lya Kushnirovich and Julia Umeki, 8-4.
The team of Lauren Lorenzetti and Ashley Harper crushed Gayarthri Balasundar and Alex Sinclair 8-2.
MEN’S TENNIS
St. John’s got another victory against the Marist Red Foxes on Sunday afternoon at Cunningham Park.
Led by No. 1-positioned Louis Desmarteaux, St John’s won the singles, but only managed one win in the doubles.
Desmarteaux defeated Pedro Genovese in two straight sets 6-2, 6-1
Tom Green and David Nylen also won in their singles matchups and in doubles.
FENCING
The St. John’s women’s fencing team had another strong day on the strip as it went undefeated at the Penn State Invitational.
The women gave long-time rival and host school Penn State its only loss of the day while also defeating the University of Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Temple.
The men’s squad earned a win over North Carolina in an 18-9 bout.
Continuing her phenomenal play was captain Erzsebet Garay. Garay was untouchable through 12 bouts in the foil and stands at 42-3 on the season.
Sophomore Reka Szele led in the epee with her own 12-0 showing and freshman Olga Ovitchinnikova was strong in the sabre.
Ovitchinnikova recorded 10 wins and two losses and is on her way to posting a 40 win season herself. She stands at 36-9.
The Red Storm will host its first-ever fencing invitational on Feb. 19 when it welcomes Rutgers.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
St. John’s got a verbal commitment from Justin Burrell, a 6-foot-7 forward from The Bronx, last week.
Burrell is a junior at Our Savior Lutheran and can sign a letter of intent with the Red Storm in November.
He will join the team in the fall of 2007.
