Piscataway, N.J.  The St. Johns University womens track & field team took home an impressive seventh place finish at the BIG EAST Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the Bauer Track and Field Complex on the Livingston campus of Rutgers University. The three-day event began on Friday, May 4 and concluded on Sunday, May 6. The St. Johns mens team placed tenth in the field of fourteen. The Red Storm womens seventh place finish is their best since 1998 when they took fifth place.

Throwers Sheba George (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Nicola Coffey (Meath, Ireland) led the way for the women. During Saturdays competition, George, the reigning ECAC champion in the weight throw, added another title to her resume. With a mark of 16004.00, George won the discus competition. Georges mark ranks third all-time in SJU history. Coffeys title came during Sundays competition. With her first throw of the day, Coffey set a new school and Irish National record in the hammer. Coffeys 19110.00 performance in the hammer, also an NCAA provisional qualifying mark, easily captured the BIG EAST title. George was the runner-up in the hammer, notching a 18103.00 for second place. George and Coffey have both been outstanding performers for the Red Storm this season.

For the men, it was also the throwers who led the way. Jason Goulart (Providence, R.I.) and Ed Hausdorf (Bellerose, N.Y.) both contended for the hammer championship. Goulart, the defending BIG EAST hammer champion, recorded a 18100.00 in the hammer. Goularts performance earned him second place to Sean Flynn of Georgetown (21006.00) and All-BIG EAST honors. Hausdorf took fourth place with a 18007.00 mark. Hausdorf was edged into fourth by John Barth of Connecticut, who recorded a 18008.00 performance. Hausdorf also had an excellent day in the javelin. With a personal best of 20305.00, Hausdorf captured fifth place.

Tiehise Shell (Hollis, N.Y.) placed fourth in the 100m dash with a time of 11.93. In the 200m, Shell also faired well, taking sixth place with a 24.51 mark. Renee Castelo (Santa Barbara, Calif.) took sixth place in the high jump with a 1.64m performance. During Fridays heptathlon, Castelo finished second overall with 4935 points.

Mariah Mauer (Kingston, N.Y.) earned All-BIG EAST honors in the triple jump with a third place performance. Mauers 15.04m mark is one of the best in school history. The mens 4x100m relay took third place with a time of 41.85. The team of Blessing Chimwanda (Harare, Zimbabwe), Damion Kenwood (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Jason Laing (Kingston, Jamaica) and Phil McLean (Bayshore, N.Y.) received All-BIG EAST accolades for their outstanding performance.

For complete BIG EAST Outdoor Championship results, visit the BIG EAST website at www.bigeast.org.

The Red Storm returns to action next weekend when they battle for the Metropolitan Championship.