Complete Results
Thursday Recap
Friday Recap
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Manhattan College track & field team wrapped up a successful opening to the outdoor season on Saturday. Rokas Kirlys (Kamaji, Lithuania) finished third in the shot put and fourth in the discus to lead the Jaspers on the final day of action at the Shamrock Invitational from Coastal Carolina University's Doug Shaw Stadium.
Kirlys qualified for the IC4A Championships in the shot put, uncorking a throw of 16.01 meters (52 feet, 6½ inches) to take third in the event. He then came back to place fourth in the discus with a toss of 46.82 m (153'7). Also in the discus, Blerim Pocesta (Staten Island, N.Y.) finished seventh with a best effort of 44.73 m (146'9). Mohamed Koita (Cergy, France), meanwhile, took the weekend off from high jumping and competed in the long jump instead…and captured second place with a leap of 6.56 m (21'6¼).
On the track, Sheldon Derenoncourt (Patchogue, N.Y.) notched a qualifying mark in the 400 meters. He placed sixth with a time of 48.27 seconds. Derenoncourt also ran the leadoff leg on the 4x400 meter relay, which just missed the IC4A qualifying standard of 3:17.60, finishing 10th overall in 3:17.85. Mikael Rojeras (Sala, Sweden) was also on that relay squad, and he added a seventh-place showing in the 1500 meters (4:18.56).
Leading the way for the women's team was Lina Bengtson (Malmo, Sweden), who posted a pair of top-six finishes. After qualifying for the ECAC Championships with a fourth-place effort in the discus (44.47 m, 145'11), she added another ECAC-qualifying mark in the shot put. Bengtson finished sixth in that event with a toss of 13.92 m (45'8). In addition, Kathy Cadet (Endicott, N.Y.) took 10th place in the 400 meter hurdles (1:03.87).
The Jaspers are entered in a pair of meets next weekend. Most of the team will compete in Saturday's FDU Knight Invitational, while the remainder of the squad heads to the ASU Invitational, which will be held on Friday and Saturday at Arizona State University.
