Fisher's Seventh-Place Team Finish Headlines E8 Performances at NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships

5/28/2019 8:22:05 AM

The St. John Fisher men's track and field team finished seventh overall as the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships came to a close over the weekend at the SPIRE Institute in Ohio. The Cardinals' team effort was the top finish of any program in the Atlantic Region and tied their best-finish ever and headlined a number of standout performances at this year's championship meet.

CLOSER LOOK
Kyle Rollins and Eddie Mahana competed in three events overall and helped lead the Cardinals to a seventh place finish in the final team standings with 21 total points. Fisher's seventh place showing equalied their mark at the conclusion of the 2018 season.

Rollins, who became the fourth individual champion in program history after clearing 2.12m in the high jump, was back in action on Saturday as he narrowly missed being named an All-American for the fifth time in his career after finishing in 12th place in the triple jump. Rollins concluded the event with a mark of 14.73m, which broke the standing school record.

Mahana competed in the championship race in both the 110m and 400m hurdles where he clinched a pair of All-American finishes. He began the final day of competition in the 110m hurdles where, after winning his heat on Friday, he missed a national championship by the slimmest of margins - just .001 seconds.  Mahana and the hurdler from Mount Union were neck and neck down the stretch as he took second overall in the race with a time of 14.367.

Mahana also competed in the 400m hurdles after posting the top qualifying mark in the preliminary round.  After a smooth start out of the blocks, Mahana would go on to net his third career All-American finish as he sprinted through the finish line in sixth place with a time of 52.56 seconds.

Stevens' Gina Dello Russo placed third in the 400-meter dash and seventh in the 200-meter dash to repeat as a two-time All-American. The junior earned the seventh and eighth All-America honors of her career and now holds the second-most All-America accolades in program history. Alumna Amy Regan was an 11-time track and field All-American from 2013-17. Dello Russo has collected two All-America honors in each of the last four NCAA Championship meets.

After posting the top time in the preliminary race, Dello Russo ran from lane five and held her own through the first 200 meters. Rounding the turn into the final straightaway, the junior sprinter grabbed the lead from the pack of nine runners and held onto first place into the final 100 meters. Nebraska Wesleyan's Kaylee Jones caught Dello Russo with 50 meters remaining and the two briefly ran side-by-side before George Fox's Sarah King overtook both competitors and won the race in 54.68 seconds. Dello Russo placed third with a time of 55.21 seconds to finish third, while posting a season-best time in the process.

In her second national championship race of the day, Dello Russo set a new school record of 24.27 seconds to finish seventh in the 200 to collect her second All-America accolade of the day. Loras' Gabrielle Noland won the race in a championship-record time of 23.44 seconds. 

Stevens Katie Weeks placed 22nd in the hammer throw to conclude her distinguished career. She graduates as a three-time All-American and leaves as the program's record holder in the shot put (indoor and outdoor), discus (outdoor), weight throw (indoor) and hammer throw (outdoor). As a team, Stevens finished 33rd out of 75 teams with eight points.

Utica's Ka'sean Watlington earned a pair of All-America honors at the meet to lead the Pioneers. The junior jumper delivered the most prolific performance of his career as he delivered a personal best mark of 14.93 meters to progress into an All-American position of eighth in Saturday's national championship competition. 

The performance is a new school record, breaking the mark previously set by Watlington a week and a half ago at the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Championships. The jump also makes Watlington an All-American in both track and field seasons on the 2018-19 college athletics calendar. He previously placed third at the 2019 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships. Watlington has appeared in three national meets so far in his career. 

Watlington had his best outdoor NCAA showing after an 11th place finish of 14.60 meters outdoors last year in his national meet debut. His performance wraps up a weekend that also included DeAndre Fyffe posting the top rookie finish nationally in the discus, and Jordan Smith finishing seventeenth in the javelin for the men's track and field team. 

Nazareth senior Alycia Eaton wrapped up her stellar career with a 20th-place finish in the long jump.

- Information for this release provided by the athletic communications staffs at Nazareth, St. John Fisher, Stevens, and Utica -

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