Jamaica, N.Y.  The St. Johns University track & field team split the squad to participate in two invitationals this weekend. The men and women top throwers, along with the womens distance team, headed to California for the UC-San Diego Open. The UCSD Open is a Division II meet, but one of the top throwing meets in the nation. The majority of the team traveled north to West Point for the Army Invitational. Both events were non-scoring meets, but the Red Storm had many top finishers.

At the Army Invitational, the Red Storm braved the cold and turned out some quality performances. Among the top finishers was Nicola Coffey (Meath, Ireland) who returned to form this weekend. Coffey won the hammer throw with a 52.94m mark. Coffey is now eligible for the ECAC and BIG EAST championships in the hammer. In the shot put, Coffey placed fifth with a BIG EAST qualifying mark of 12.07m.

Alina Abramova (Armavik, Russia) did not break her season-best marks this weekend, but she still managed to place third and second in the long jump and triple jump, respectively.

For the men, Mariah Mauer (Kingston, N.Y.) won the triple jump event with a 14.31m mark. Matt Cotter (Wakefield, R.I.) was St. Johns top finisher of eight runners in the 800m. Cotter placed fifth with a 1.55.6 mark.

At the San Diego Open in sunny California, Sheba George (Brooklyn, N.Y.), the reigning ECAC champion in the weight throw, qualified for two more ECAC championship events this weekend at the San Diego Open. In the shot put, George took ninth place with a mark of 13.61m, her best of the outdoor season. George placed second in the discus throw with a 45.97m mark.

Renee Castelo (Santa Barbara, Calif.) won the javelin throw with a 35.15m mark, making her eligible for the BIG EAST championships. In the high jump Castelo also qualified for BIG EAST with a fifth place, 1.60m performance.

Ed Hausdorf (Bellerose, N.Y.) also won his event, the javelin throw with a 57.27m mark. Jason Goulart (Providence, R.I.), the defending BIG EAST champion in the hammer throw, qualified for the IC4A championships in the hammer with a 57.42m mark.