STATEN ISLAND — The New Jersey City University men's and women's track & field squads kicked off their 2022-23 indoor seasons earlier today, Friday, Dec. 2, with the FastTrack Season Opener at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex. Five returning Gothic Knights collected personal records on the day, while freshman thrower Mahkai Winston (Union, N.J./Union) notched the best shot put toss for NJCU in nearly three years.

On the women's side of things, senior captain Tiffany Ortiz (Jersey City, N.J./University Academy Charter) PRed in the 500m with a time of 1:21.92 to place 13th out of 28 runners — she finished ahead of seven Division I or II competitors. Another highlight for the Jersey City women was senior thrower Shantel Worrell (Jersey City, N.J./Snyder). The fourth-year Gothic Knight placed 19th overall out of 33 competitors in the shot put with a toss of 8.62 meters. Freshman Shyanne Anson (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie) also made her collegiate debut in the event and placed 23th with a toss of 8.12m.

On the men's side for the Green and Gold, as mentioned, Winston had a dominant toss in the shot put of 11.77 meters to place him 11th overall out of 35 throwers, including ahead of five Division I or II foes. It was the longest shot put throw for NJCU since May 2019 and the longest indoor men's shot put result for the program since February 2019, also at Ocean Breeze. Senior Adnan Kpodo (Irvington, N.J./Irvington) had a strong day on the track, as well, as he PRed in the mile to place 14th out of 24 runners with a time of 4:42.35, better than five Division I or II competitors.

Another freshman, Gerard Victor (Irvington, N.J./Payne Tech) had a strong collegiate debut on the track as the rookie placed 12th out of 25 runners in the 500m with a time of 1:10.72, which was faster than nine Division I or II runners. Freshman Pratt Charlies placed 28th overall out of 62 runners in the 200m-dash with a time of 23.97 — ahead of eight Division I or II runners — while senior Emmanuel Chinonso Abarah (Irvington, N.J./Irvington) PRed in the event with a 31st-place time of 24.10. Rookie Juan Mercedes Cruz (El Seybo, Dominican Republic/Manville) placed 36th, as well, with a time of 24.26. Both senior captain Jaime Tlatelpa (Jersey City, N.J./University Academy Charter) and junior Topu Saha (Jersey City, N.J./William L. Dickinson) PRed in the 5,000m with times of 16:29.67 and 16:54.73, respectively, to placed 17th and 18th.

Up Next:
Jersey City returns to Ocean Breeze next Friday, Dec. 9, for the Wagner College Invitational, which is scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m.