Standish, ME – CMCC Track and Field teams delivered a strong performance at the Monks Invitational, hosted by St. Joseph's College of Maine, on Saturday. The Mustangs were joined by fellow Yankee Small College Conference teams York County and UMaine-Augusta in a field that included 11 NCAA DIII squads competing in a full day's worth of events.
"We're seeing the work this group has been putting in start to show up across the board," said head coach Kevin Mitchell. "From the number of personal bests to the way they're competing and supporting each other. It was a very long and cold day, and I was especially proud of how our athletes continued to cheer each other on from beginning to end. The relay performances and a school record were big moments for us, but what stands out most is the energy, the teamwork, and the commitment this group brings every single day. We're excited to keep building from here."
Both the men's and women's team showed progress from their first outing last week at the UMaine Spring Opener, with improvement across nearly every event group. The throwers led the way with personal bests across the board, with several athletes achieving PRs in multiple events. The sprint
On the men's side, Zachary Peirce continued to improve his school record in the javelin. The sophomore from Charleston, ME had the third-longest throw of the entire USCAA this season with a personal best mark of 42.42 meters. He made the men's finals and ultimately ended up sixth in the meet out of 32 competitors. Peirce, also a member of the Cross Country team, rounded out his day in the 1500m with a time of 5:01.75.
Hunter Holt marked his return to the team this season by competing in all four throwing disciplines. His time in the gym paid off, as the Messalonskee High School product improved on his personal bests from last year in discus, javelin, and shot put. Holt finished 21st in discus (25.54m), 23rd in hammer throw (21.00m), 29th in shot put (8.50m), and 31st in javelin (26.03m).
Tulebari Monday, Brian Somers, and Elijah Burkhardt all competed in throwing events as well. Monday led the Mustangs in the shot put, finishing 16th overall with a toss of 10.24 meters, and discus, taking 19th with a 28.16 meter effort. Somers had the team's second-best throw in javelin, reaching 32.58 meters to place 21st overall. Burkhardt gave the shot put and discus a go, reaching 6.58 meters and 16.80 meters respectively.
On the track, Isaiah Taylor and Ritangel Silva both posted the same time in the 100-meter dash, finishing in separate heats in 12.12 seconds, just shy of the school record in the event. Silva earned the tiebreaker to place 11th overall thanks to a slightly stronger headwind during his run. Gracen Golebiewski wasn't too far behind in 12.34 seconds to finish 15th. Similar results were the same story in the 200m for Golebiewski and Silva. They finished within 0.01 seconds of each other in separate heats; Golebiewski with a 25.15 second time and Silva in 25.16 seconds.
Golebiewski rounded out his day with a 19th in the 400m with a time of 58.01, joined by teammate Brandon Powell who battled through injury in a time of 1:27.77. The pair also competed in long jump. Golebiewski took 18th with a best leap of 5.48 meters while Powell reached 2.99 meters.
Speaking of jumps, Nathanael Mondo Moundoumou set the team's first mark of the year in the high jump. The sophomore from Auburn, ME cleared 1.53 meters in his first action since high school. He also joined up with Silva, Taylor, and Golebiewski on the 4x100m relay team. The Mustangs set another school record with a time of 47.91 seconds to finish sixth.
On the women's side, Eva Fleurent stayed consistent in the 800m with a time of 2:56.12, good enough for eighth place. The Biddeford High School product showed her endurance in the 1500m to come home eighth as well, finishing in 5:54.51. She also took on a new event, participating in the 400m hurdles and producing a decent time of 1:30.95, good enough for fifth place.
Samantha Saiauski took on three of the four throwing events. She had a best finish of 27th in the javelin with a throw of 16.10 meters. The sophomore from Kittery, ME also placed 35th in the discus (18.38m) and 41st in shot put (6.87m).
Breanna Dwyer, Keilani Horne, and Mikela Alvarado all ran the 100-meter dash. In the field of 25 runners, Dwyer placed highest in eighth with a time of 13.67 seconds. Horne (14.86) finished 18th and Alvarado (16.80) ended in 24th. All three were joined by Josie Friend in the 4x100m relay, finishing in under a minute with a time of 59.11 seconds.
Friend, Horne, and Dwyer also competed in the long jump for the first time this season. Dwyer's best effort of 4.21 meters led the group, good enough for 22nd, while Friend (3.96m) placed 25th and Horne (3.78m) 27th. Rounding out the women's events, Dwyer posted a 28.25 second run in the 200m to finish fourth and Friend completed her busy day in the 400m with a time of 1:14.61.
The event did not keep team scores, but Central Maine improved on its point total from last week. The teams now prepare for the final week of their short season, traveling to American International College in Springfield, MA for the Yankee Small College Conference Championships on Saturday, April 19th. The action gets started at 9:30 am.
