WEST HAVEN, Conn. – After competing in Myrtle Beach a week ago the New Haven Women's Track and field team had a slightly shorter drive this time to go and compete at the Wesleyan Swanson Invitational Meet at Wesleyan College in Middletown Connecticut. The blue and gold placed in five events winning two events led by the arms of Neva Bostic (Saint Johnsbury, Vt./St. Johnsbury Academy) and Jalynn McCown (Guilford, Conn./Guilford).
Jalynn McCown (Guilford, Conn./Guilford) started off the meet for the blue and gold throwing shot and set the standard on just her second throw. After an opening throw of 11.23m, her second throw was the one to beat. Marked at 11.40m that would be McCown's best throw staying in the same range for distance. That mark would hold against the competition and even teammate Isabelle Robinson (Hawthorne, NJ/Hawthorne High School) who would finish third in the event with a throw of 10.91m. Robinson opened up the event with a throw of 10.32m followed by 10.30m to move her into the finals. In the finals she needed just one throw to get the mark of 10.91m which would finish her in third place for the meet.
A week after breaking the school record in the Javelin, Neva Bostic (Saint Johnsbury, Vt./St. Johnsbury Academy) stayed at the top winning the event at the meet. After an opening throw of 34.99m, Bostic followed that with a finals qualifying throw of 36.19m to move her into the finals flight of the event. Bostic in the finals would wait until her final throw to best her second throw marking her final throw at 37.93m which would go on to finish Bostic in first in the meet with second place being marked nearly four meters shorter than her final throw.
Following her first place finish in shot, Jalynn McCown (Guilford, Conn./Guilford) competed again in the Hammer throw alongside teammate Elise Dodel (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo). The two would go back and forth besting each other on each of their throws. McCown opened with a throw of 39.87m before Dodel beat that on her second throw of 40.53m. McCown would then bounce back ahead of Dodel on her third throw being marked at 43.47m advancing her to the finals along with Dodel. Both would continue to go back and forth with each other in the finals continuing the competition. McCown's throw of 43.47m would throw her into second place with Dodel's throw of 40.53m finishing her in third right behind McCown setting up a friendly rivalry for the duo in the event for the entire season.
Mikayla Yatsko (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) jumped into a second place finish in the triple jump. The sandpit was not the same beach sand from South Carolina, but that difference didn't matter to Yatsko who on her third jump, jumped 10.55m which leaped her into second place and the finals of the event. In the finals she needed one jump just like in the prelims to jump 10.79m which would hold against the competition and finish Yatsko in second place in the meet.
With the return of meets in the Northeast, the women's track team now wraps up the month of March and moves to April where they will be competing ahead of the Conference Championships at the start of May. The team returns to competition next week traveling to New Jersey to compete at The College of New Jersey Invitational meet on Saturday April 2nd.
