Men's Outdoor Track & Field 5/6/2024 12:08:00 AM

Men's Outdoor Track & Field team captures 2024 CUNYAC title; Women's team claims second place

Results

The Medgar Evers Cougars reached the top of the outdoor track and field mountain, winning the 2024 CUNYAC Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championship at Icahn Stadium by scoring a whopping 199 points. The Cougars captured the championship in dominating fashion, finishing 76 points ahead of second place CCNY (123 points). Lehman followed in third (119 points), and Hunter (115 points) and York (47 points) came in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Coming off a dominant indoor season that resulted in the program's first-ever league title under the guidance of head coach Hugh Reid, Medgar Evers rode that momentum into the outdoor campaign and solidified another CUNYAC title, etching its place in history with a tremendous three-month output.

Medgar Evers' women's team put forth a hearty effort in an attempt to make it a clean sweep of championships, but the Cougars had to settle as the runners-up, coming in second place to champion Hunter College. The Hawks claimed the outdoor title by scoring 233 points, while the Cougars finished with 184. Following the day's action, Head Coach Hugh Reid spoke.

"This has been a notable season on so many levels. Since March, our student-athletes have been committed to each other and have exceeded expectations. Thanks to hard work and dedication, our men's team was able to accomplish a plethora of collective goals. We had some extraordinary performances across the board, highlighted by having four of the top five scorers in the meet, including Jahiem Johnson, Chrisnel Nicolas, Rupert Luard-Charles, and Dontay Washington. It took a collaborative effort to win this championship, and we had several student-athletes who rose to the occasion and solidified this win. Traditionally we are a sprint, hurdle and jumps dominant program, and those athletes delivered. However, this championship was cemented by the significant contributions of our distance and throwing groups. They contributed over 50 points to our team championship win.

Our women's program had its best performance at the outdoor championships in 15 years. I am honored to be part of this resurgence. This is a young team that is still realizing its potential. These women were challenged to step outside of their comfort zone, and their tenacity has made us a formidable contender within the conference. We had four young women score 25 or more points, including Desireth Ramirez, Aaliyah Bartholomew, Nana Samake, and Jada Lambert. We also had medal worthy performances from Cougars women like conference champion Imani Richardson, runner up Torey Richards, and bronze medalist Nia Butler.

I am so pleased to have helped two passionate young people win CUNYAC MVP awards this year. These two athletes have been staples in our program all year and to have witnessed their assent to the top of the conference has been not only an honor but my pleasure."

On the men's side, Johnson was named the meet's Most Valuable Performer. The rookie won gold medals in five events, including the javelin (42.79m), 400m dash (51.04), 200m dash (23.05) and as a member of Medgar's 4x100m (44.60) and 4x400m (3:37.11) relay teams. In addition, he won a bronze medal in the 100m dash (11.77).

As a team, the Cougars won gold medals in six events, as Nicolas took gold in the pole vault with a height of 2.73m.

For the Cougars' women's squad, Ramirez was tabbed the meet's Most Valuable Performer. The first-year student-athlete won gold in the 100mH (18.91) and was a part of the Cougars' gold-medal 4x100m relay (52.21) squad. In addition, she earned silver medals in the 100m (13.44) and 400mH (1:19.84) events while securing a bronze in the triple jump (9.38m).

Nana Samake was the top finisher in three events, earning gold in the 1,500m (5:38.12), 800m (2:39.79) and 5,000m (21:41.62) races.

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