WASHINGTON - The American University track team restarted its 2021-22 indoor season with two event wins and a new all-time top 10 mark on Saturday during the VMI Team Challenge.
- Junior Nia Holden earned the first win of the day, pacing the field in the women's 800-meter run with a final time of 2:20.80. Senior Elise Hooker joined her in the field and was one of 10 top-three finishers for the Eagles.
- Freshman Oscar Counsell paced the men's 800m, crossing in 1:58.10 to lead a 1-2-3 AU sweep followed by junior Nathan Reeves in second and junior Jackson McCarthy in third.
- Reeves picked up a pair of personal records (PR's), finishing in 1:58.11 for second in the 800m run, then 4:18.48 for third in the mile
- The women's 4x400m relay was also among the highlights after earning the second-fastest time in program history with a final crossing of 4:11.69. The squad of Hooker, Holden, sophomore Cassandra Daniele and freshman Lucia Ianello placed third overall in the field and are less than three seconds away from the program record of 4:08.94, set in 2015.
- Fifth-year senior Alisha Netus advanced into the final of the women's 60m dash after tying her PR, and the No. 2 time in program history, with an 8.01 finish in the prelim. She closed in eighth overall.
- Junior Russell Sullivan just missed their 3000m PR with a final time of 8:38.09 for second in the men's field. Senior Aidan Caggiano finished right behind in third with a new PR of 8:46.29.
- Junior Rachael Potter rounded out the top-three finishers on the day for the Eagles with a second-place finish in the women's 3000m, finishing with the day's fifth PR in 10:43.03.
HEAR FROM COACH GRAHAM...
"The men's and women's teams had a good day today at VMI for our first competition off the holiday break. As with any first meet back, we had our fair share of rough races, and those athletes know what they need to do. However, most were very good and a slew of PR's were achieved as well.
"
Rachael Potter had a big PR in the 3k, executing her race plan very well for a runner-up finish.
Nia Holden led wire-to-wire to win the 800m with
Elise Hooker in third. The women's 4x400m is now up to No. 2 all-time and is a mere three seconds off the record. And
Alisha Netus tied her No. 2 60m time of 8.01 for the second consecutive meet.
"On the men's side, we had a strong showing in the mile with
Nathan Reeves and
Oscar Counsell in third and seventh. They made the race what it was but got passed at the end, we'll fix that. Those two came back very strong to go 1-2 in the 800 less than two hours later with
Jackson McCarthy taking third for the sweep. In the men's 3000m,
Russell Sullivan and
Aidan Caggiano made the race as well. Just need some more work on closing to ensure 1-2 finishes rather than 2-4 after leading the whole way.
Alex Murphy had his best race in an AU uniform as well in the 3k and we are looking forward to some exciting things to come from him.
"We now have a good two week block of training to get us ready to improve across the board for George Mason at the end of the month. We've got a pretty good start but must continue to work harder to get better, and we will."
#AUTF RESULTS
| EVENT |
RESULTS |
| 60m Dash, Women |
8. Alisha Netus, 8.71 (8.01p) | 19. Neev Agarwal, 8.78 |
| 200m Dash, Women |
25. Neev Agarwal, 29.53 |
| 200m Dash, Men |
12. Malcolm Going, 24.47 |
| 400m Dash, Women |
6. Lucia Ianello, 1:04.77 | 11. Eva Gibson, 1:11.80 | 12. Erika Linke, 1:11.93 | 15. Maya Porter, 1:14.94 |
| 400m Dash, Men |
16. Tyler White, 57.11 |
| 800m Run, Women |
1. Nia Holden, 2:20.80 | 3. Elise Hooker, 2:22.04 | 15. Cassandra Daniele, 2:37.51 |
| 800m Run, Men |
1. Oscar Counsell, 1:58.10 | 2. Nathan Reeves, 1:58.11 PR | 3. Jackson McCarthy, 2:01.96 | 5. Malcolm Going, 2:04.54 | 10. Foster Boone, 2:08.47 |
| Mile Run, Women |
16. Kelsey Miskimins, 6:09.89 | 17. Kirah Tianga, 6:13.73 |
| Mile Run, Men |
3. Nathan Reeves, 4:18.48 PR | 7. Oscar Counsell, 4:23.35 PR | 17. Ethan Puc, 4:46.45 |
| 3000m Run, Women |
2. Rachael Potter, 10:43.03 PR |
| 3000m Run, Men |
2. Russell Sullivan, 8:38.09 | 4. Aidan Caggiano, 8:46.29 PR | 7. Alex Murphy, 8:54.29 |
| 5000m Run, Women |
3. Catie Anderson, 19:41.86 | 4. Kylie Raymond, 19:51.57 |
| 4x400m Relay, Women |
3. Hooker, Ianello, Daniele, Holden, 4:11.69 #2 |
For the latest on American University Track, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@AU_TrackXC) and Instagram (@AU_TrackXC).
