WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Cedar Crest College track & field team participated in its last regular season meet at the Monarch Open, hosted by King's College (Pa.) on Saturday.

"We had a lot of really strong individual performances today," stated Head Coach Alec Duncan. "I think that will help a lot with the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Championship Meet next weekend.

Beginning with the field events, freshman Tiffany Kuras (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) won the javelin event, throwing for a mark of 35.13 meters. Freshman Rebecca Verdi (Crownsville, Md./Old Mill ) had a personal best finish in the javelin, placing ninth with a distance of 21.32 meters.

"It was great to see Becca make it to the finals in the javelin and get that experience before next weekend," continued Duncan. "Tiff also did really well to come back and win the javelin event with a strong series."

Heading into the shot put event, junior Kelsee Schouppe (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) and Kuras had ECAC qualifying marks, finishing ninth and tenth with marks of 9.84 and 9.80 meters, respectively. Both marks were personal bests. Freshman Heaven Bethea (Boynton Beach, Fla./South Tech Academy ) also competed in the event and registered a personal best throw of 5.95 meters.

In talking about the shot put, Duncan said, "Tiff and Kelsee opened up their meet strong in the shot put with ECAC qualifying marks."

Two Falcons took part in the discus throw event. Schouppe finished ninth with a mark of 28.97 meters while junior Lillie Jones (Wilmington, Del./DelCastle Technical) had a personal best with a distance of 14.20 meters.

Freshman Abril Riley (Levittown, Pa./Harry S. Truman ) debuted in the long jump event with a distance of 3.72 meters. Classmate Jess Simins (Phillipsburg, N.J. /Warren Tech) debuted in the 1500-meter run, finishing tenth with a time of 6:18.56. Junior Saige Sterner (Jim Thorpe, Pa./Jim Thorpe Area) came in just behind Simins (6:19.57).

Staying in the track events, juniors Kiley Marone (Mohrsville, Pa. /Tulpehocken) and Emily Kern (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) had top ten finishes in the 400-meter dash. Marone finished sixth with a time of 1:07.85, which is also a personal best. Kern landed in tenth (1:10.43). The pair also competed in the 800-meter run.

"Kiley and Emily both had a tough double in the 400-and-800 meter events, but handled it well and raced smart in both events," said Duncan.

Freshman Zakiyyah Sabir (Philadelphia, Pa. /Philadelphia E&T) registered a personal best in the 200-meter dash with a time of 32.93.

Senior Brittney Dunleavy (Auburn, Pa./Blue Mountain) recorded a top-five finish in the 400-meter hurdles, landing fourth with a time of 1:19.55.

Next up for the Falcons will be the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Championship Meet, scheduled for May 7-8 at Alfred State College.

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