Gophers Nab Five First-Place Finishes at Blue & Gold Classic

TOWSON, Md. - The Goucher College women's outdoor track and field team claimed five first place finishes as it hosted the Blue & Gold Classic at Gopher Stadium on Friday.

The women's 4x100 relay team was victorious for the second straight week, lowering their season-best time and posting a 50.05.  The relay squad consisted by Jaelan Gabriel (Houston, Texas/Dulles), Tahira Bakare (Silver Spring, Md./Archbishop Carroll), Neli La Court Ruiz (York, Pa./Northeastern) and Anise Williams (West Palm Beach, Fla./The Benjamin School).

Bakare was one of three Gophers to reach the 100-meter dash final, winning with a time of 13.06 seconds running into a headwind.  Gabriel finished fourth with a time of 13.71 seconds, while Ruiz was fifth at 13.74 seconds.

Bakare also placed second in the 200 with a personal-bes 26.24 seconds.

Carter Hinton-Ayodele (Bowie, Md./Bowie) took first in both the long jump (5.13 meters) and triple jump (11.02 meters), recording an outdoor season-best in the long jump.

Kiri Alston-Buck (Havre de Grace, Md./Havre de Grace) finished first in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.15 seconds.

In the women's javelin, Lydia Bailey (Salisbury, Md./Wicomico) and Ava Cox (Eklton, Md./Elkton) finished 2-3 with marks of 22.83 meters and 18.17 meters, respectively.  Kya Taylor (Dinwiddie, Va./Dinwiddie) placed sixth in the shot put with a toss of 9.42 meters.

Sophie O'Connor (Shorewood, Wisc./Shorewood) finished fifth in the 800 with a time of 2:43.17 and ninth in the 1500 (5:40.71).  Reese Finnigan (Dallas, Texas/Grapevine) posted a season-best 5:50.69 in the 1500.

Emma Kistner (Woodlawn, Md./Mount de Sales) placed fourth in the 400 with a time of 1:03.96.

For the Gopher men, Joel Gladney (Perry Hall, Md./Perry Hall) placed second in the javelin with a toss of 22.83 meters. Gladney also placed fifth in the discus with a toss of 39.01 meters.

Mustafa Honeyblue (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) qualified for the 100-meter dash final and placed sixth with a time of 11.65 seconds.

Goucher is back in action next Friday, April 22, when it is slated to compete at the Morgan State Legacy meet.