Monmouth University The name of the meet was “Fast Times Before Finals,” and that is just what Monmouth University All-American Laura Williams was — fast.
The junior, a graduate of North Brunswick High School, won both the 200- and 400-meter dashes at the meet hosted by Lehigh University at the Rauch Field House in Bethlehem, Pa.
Both the Hawks women’s and men’s track and field squads competed at the meet. In addition to Williams’ pair of wins, Rachel Aliotta (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire) and Tilah Young (Barnegat) each qualified for the ECAC Championships. On the men’s side, Vincent Elardo (Lacey) continued his fine form in the shot put and weight throw.
“We had a lot of strong performances in every event area,” head coach Joe Compagni said in a Monmouth University press release. “The next step is to keep training hard so that we continue to improve into 2012.”
Williams won the 200 meters in 25.77 with teammate Colleen Rutecki (Springfield, Pa.) fifth (26.86). The former Raider star took the 400 in 58.82, followed by teammate Rachel Watkins (Indian Hills) in second with a time of 59.34 and reigning Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week Kate Frye, who finished in 1:00.51.
Frye finished first in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.06, followed by Watkins, who ran 9.24, in third, and senior Lindsey Walsh (Lenape), who crossed the finish line .02 seconds later, in fourth.
Aliotta landed a throw of 46-1½ in the shot put to earn first and punch her ticket to the ECAC Championships. Sandra Jean- Romain (Old Bridge) and Jessica Torritto
Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown East) finished second and fifth, respectively, with tosses of 41-3 and 38-7¾.
Young, a sophomore, earned a trip to the ECACs, with her 55-11 in the weight throw, good for second overall. Aliotta claimed third — she hurled 49-2¼.
Rutecki finished first in the 500-meter dash, registering a time of 1:19.02, while Danielle Torritto (Smithtown) claimed fifth with a 1:21.41 finish.
Lachelle Wallace (Herndon, Va./South Lakes) ran 7.89 in the 60-meter dash to earn second overall.
Kelsey Maher (Jackson Memorial) and Juliet Smith (Freedom, Pa./Freedom Area) finished fourth and fifth in the mile run with times of 5:27.10 and 5:32.56, respectively. Frye also finished first in the long jump, registering a mark of 18-6¾. Walsh landed a jump of 18-0½, good for third.
Kim Price (Wilmington, Del./Concord) took first in the triple jump, landing a mark of 36-6.25.
On the men’s side, Elardo, who already qualified for the IC4A Championships with his marks last weekend at third annual MAC Classic hosted by Monmouth, finished first in his two throwing events. The reigning NEC Field Athlete of the Week launched a throw 58-11¼ to win the weight throw. The senior also took first in the shot put, posting a mark of 56-11¼.
Shane Carle (Jackson Memorial) took third with a throw of 51-8¼.
Josh Mann (Warwick Valley, N.Y.) and Nick Waltman (JFK Memorial) jumped 45-3¾ and 45-0¼ to earn second and third overall in the triple jump.
Jake Bartlett (Christian Brothers Academy) cleared 6-4¼ to earn third in the high jump.
Rookie Tom Jeffers (Triton) earned second for the second straight week in the pole vault, clearing 14-1¼.
Stevenson Cajuste (Egg Harbor) landed a jump of 21-7.75 to take third in the long jump.
Geoff Navarro (Absegami) ran 7.04 to finish third in the 60-meter dash. The senior also took second in the 200-meter dash, running 22.93.
Chris Rutherford (Toms River East) finished third in the 400-meter dash, running 52.02, followed by freshman Aaron Aquino-Rodriguez (Lakeland Regional), who ran 52.35, to earn fifth.
Jon Marques (St. Joseph, Metuchen) picked up a qualifying time for the IC4A meet when he captured the 500-meter dash in 1:05.01.
Ford Palmer (Absegami) ran 4:23.39 to win the mile run, followed by Andrew Langille (Scarborough, Ontario, Canada/R.S. McLaughlin C.V.I.), who was third in 4:31.43.
Joe DiBianca (Oakcrest), Bayaan Oluyadi (Union), Marques and Palmer crossed the finish line second in the 4×400 meter relay, running 3:26.82.
MU will continue its season in the new year when it competes at the Rutgers Invitational Jan. 6-7.
The ECAC and IC4Ameets will be held March 3-4 at the Reggie Lewis Center and Boston University in Boston.