UNCP roundup: Two school records fall at track meet
Jan. 23—WINSTON-SALEM — Kathryn Anderson shattered the 3000-meter Run school record, while Delsin Burkhart, Lucas Nervo, Bryan Viera, Gabe Blackwelder teamed up in the 4×800-meter Relay for a school record at the COROS Collegiate Challenge on Sunday at the JDL Fast Track.
Anderson claimed runner-up honors in the 3000-meter Run with a time of 10:36.43, breaking teammate Valary Samoei's record set in 2020. Anderson finished just four seconds behind Natalie Almond of Catawba. Alycia Artman registered fourth-place finishes in both the Shot Put and Weight Throw, while Aly Hudspeth finished in seventh place in High Jump.
On the men's side, Burkhart, Nervo, Viera and Blackwelder inked their names in the record book with a third-place finish in the 4×800-meter Relay with a time of 8:12.54 for a school record. Burkhart cruised to a fourth-place finish in the Mile Run, while Norman Junker placed fifth in the 3000-meter Run. Wyatt Kuhnemann, Levin Koonce, Jakel Chalmers, Mark Williams competed in the 4×400-meter Relay and logged a third-place finish.
The Braves will be back in action on Friday for the VMI-hosted Winter Classic. The two-day meet will take place at the Corps Physical Training Facility in Lexington, Va.
Evans, Marino close out action at Carolina Challenge
Raigan Evans and Lillian Marino both participated in the invite section of the Weight Throw on Saturday for the final day of action at the Carolina Challenge at the Carolina Indoor Facility.
Evans posted an eighth-place finish and logged a mark of 15.20-meters in the event. Marino, who currently holds the school record in the Weight Throw, placed ninth with a mark of 14.71-meters.
The throwing duo were the only two NCAA Division II athletes that were in the competition.
Braves swimming stays perfect at home, downs No. 40 Lenoir-Rhyne, Roanoke
The UNC Pembroke swimming team climbed to the top of the podium in 13 of the meet's 14 events, including school-record performances from both Mariel Mencia Martinez and Ketlyn Rodriguez Matos, to fuel 100+-point victories over both No. 40 Lenoir-Rhyne and Roanoke on Saturday afternoon in the UNCP Aquatics Center.
UNCP (8-3) improved to 9-0 all-time in their home natatorium after posting a 184-78 win over the nationally-ranked Bears (6-3), as well as a 186-74 victory over the Maroons (4-2). It was UNCP's third-straight win in the series with Lenoir-Rhyne, while the Black & Gold avenged a loss, of sorts, earlier this season to Roanoke who finished one spot better at the Pacer Invitational in mid-November.
Mencia Martinez produced an NCAA B Standard qualifying time, as well as broke her own school record, in the 50-yard Freestyle, while also finishing atop the field in the 100-yard Freestyle and 100-yard Butterfly events as well. Newcomer Britta Schwengle, who joined the Black & Gold at the semester break, bested the rest of the field in the 200-yard Backstroke, as well as the 500- and 1000-yard Freestyle disciplines.
Rodriguez Matos, who was honored alongside the rest of the program's 6-member senior class during one of the intermissions, shattered her year-old school record in the 200-yard Breaststroke about an hour after capturing the 100-yard Breaststroke event as well.
Chiara Ambrosi was tops in the 200-yard Individual Medley, Mary Jensen touched first in the 100-yard Backstroke and Nathalia Silva won the 200-yard Freestyle for the hosts as well. UNCP, which claimed the top-3 spots in two events, while finishing 1-2 in four others, also claimed victory in the 200-yard Medley and 200-yard Freestyle Relay events.
The Black & Gold will return to action on January 28 when they trek to Spartanburg, S.C., to take on Conference Carolinas rival Converse (4-3) in an 11 a.m. dual meet inside the Montgomery Student Center.
