UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Towson University women's track and field team will return to Happy Valley for the Penn State Tune-Up on Friday, Feb. 18. The team previously went to Penn State National from Jan. 21-22.
Starting with this meet, Gabriella Gaudreault is serving as acting head coach until further notice.
Last Time Out
Last weekend the Tigers competed at the Rutgers Open (Feb. 11-12) where they picked up seven personal bests and multiple top 10 program marks.
Ainsley Jacobs placed second in the 5000 meters with a time of 17:24.09, a new indoor personal record for her and third all-time in the program. The 4x400 relay comprised of Charlton, Caruth, Tucker and Cuervo recorded a new season-high of 3:51.99 in the event to come in fifth place.
Fatimah Owens won the college weight throw with a personal best mark of 18.30 meters to rank fifth in program history. Owens also came in seventh in the college shot put with a toss of 12.52 meters. Kayla Thorpe finished seventh in the shot put championship, 13.26 meters. Georgia Coleman also came in sixth in the weight throw with a toss of 17.45 meters.
Crystal Johnson placed second in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.42. She went on to also place fifth in the 200 meter dash (24.65). Cristal Cuervo also came in eighth in the 200 (24.86) to set the sixth best all-time mark. Sydney Tucker followed up with a time of 25.18 to place 13th and crack the program's all-time top-10.
Hayley Horvath came in at 3.91 meters in the pole vault to end in fifth place.
In the 400 meters, Chalys Caruth set a new personal best and third all-time best indoor time (56.84). LeMeyah Charlton also came up with the fourth best indoor time in the race and a new personal best, clocking 57.42.
Indoor 2021 Recap
The indoor track & field team made waves as the team competed in seven meets during the 2021 campaign. The Tigers ended the season with over 25 top-five finishes and several personal bests accomplished.
Horvath led the way with a very successful indoor pole vault season, capturing five top-five finishes, including a first-place victory at the Winter Track Fiesta hosted by George Mason to end her season. The highlight of her season, however, was setting a new program-best in the indoor pole vault, jumping 4.21 meters at the Darius Dixon Memorial Invitational hosted by Liberty. After that jump, Horvath ranked No. 13 in the nation and ended the indoor season at No. 22.
Kayla Thorpe also found successful as she set a new freshman record at the VMI Team Challenge in the shot put. The rookie's best throw of the day of 13.53 meters ranks fourth all-time indoors and established a new freshman record.
Not to be forgotten on the track, upperclassmen Crystal Johnson and Holly Edsall both made some noise at the Brant Tolsma Invitational, hosted by Liberty University. Senior Johnson won the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.50 while junior Holly Edsall came out on top in the 500 meter run with a time of 1:19.33.
Fresh Faces
This offseason, the Tigers welcomed 10 freshmen to the team in Cristal Cuervo, Lacey Fowler, Deneé Hibbert, Sara Kindbom, Mia Martinez, Sarah Meredith, Alexis Mogensen, Aubrey Schaffer, Mya Shoemaker and Casey Walter.
Transferring In
Transfers Najae Nickerson (Mount St. Mary's), Amahri Boyce (Manhattan College), Taylor Robinson (Marshall), Chalys Caruth (Mount St. Mary's), Amanda Tony (Alvernia) and Emmeline Klefaas (North Greenville) also all joined the Tiger family for the upcoming slate.
Looking Ahead
Next up, the Tigers will travel to the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Spokane, Washington from Feb. 25-26.
Tigers in the Community
For the 7th consecutive year, the department exceeded 10,000 hours of community service to the Greater Baltimore region, finishing with 11,162 hours of community service in the 2018-19 academic season. Towson ranked #1 nationally for community service and won the 2018 National Championship for Community Service through the Helper Helper NCAA Team Works Competition. Towson had a 97% participation rate, attended 118 community service opportunities and volunteered with 19 organizations. The Tigers won the 2018 Volunteer of the Year Award from Susan G. Komen of Maryland.
