WEATHER CAN’T SLOW DOWN RAMS AT VINCE BROWN INVITATIONAL

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – It's not the norm to have two consecutive weekends of wintery weather in the Metro Richmond. Therefore, it would make sense for people in the area to struggle with adjusting to the conditions. Try being a collegiate track team.

That's exactly what the Virginia Commonwealth University women's track & field team had to deal with, but that didn't slow down the Rams from posting seven personal bests and 11 top-five finishes at this past weekend's Vince Brown Invitational, hosted by Christopher Newport University.

"After taking an unsuspected weekend off last week due to the weather, I was proud of the way we responded this week," Head Coach Jon Riley said. "The weather really hampered our preparation, but the ladies hung in there and gave it their best effort."

Leading the way was junior Quina Fortune (New Orleans, La.), who captured a win and a personal best in the 400-meter dash with an ECAC-qualifying time of 56.97.

A pair of freshmen continued their strong debut campaigns with the Black & Gold with Jalessa Williams (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Chaneka Perry (Newport News, Va.) both earning second-place finishes. Williams posted a personal best with a toss of 44' 4" in the shot put, while Perry clocked in at 8.50 in the 55-meter hurdles.

The sophomore duo of Jazlynn Finney (Leesburg, Va.) and Rachel Montague (Marlton, N.J.) each garnered a trio of third-place finishes at the meet. Finney posted a personal best in the long jump with a mark of 18' 2 ¼", while Montague captured two third-place finishes in both the triple jump and the 55-meter hurdles.

Other athletes who posted personal bests include senior Sernarra Archie (Winston-Salem, N.C.) in both the 55-meter hurdles and the triple jump, junior Kelsey Farmer (Mechanicsville, Va.) in the weight throw and sophomore Stephanie Newing (Virginia Beach, Va.) in the pole vault.

The Rams are back in action next weekend as they head north to compete in the Valentine Invitational, hosted by Boston University.