The Army West Point track and field team competed in the final day of the Terrier Classic Jan. 27 in Boston, and the team broke multiple school records.
The first record to fall was Saydee Aganus breaking her own record that she set last week in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.58 seconds, last week she ran a 8.60.Next was Joanna Halfhill in the 1,000 meters. She ran a program best 2:49.72. The shotput was the other highlight of the day. The Black Knights finished one and two with Emily Fink winning at 15.08 meters and Kaley Ragazzini not too far behind.It was a strong day all around for Army. The Black Knights will be back in action against Navy for the "Star Meet" presented by USAA in Annapolis, Maryland, on Feb. 3.COACHES CORNER"Outstanding competition again today. The BU track does not disappoint. Although we didn't win anything on the oval, we had some great performances and some of the fastest times ever run at the academy. Saydee Aganus got us started in the 60-meter hurdle final with a new school record of 8.58. She is dialed in to her technique and looks sharp. A week ago she dropped her personal best to 8.60 and now has lowered it again one week later. She just keeps getting better and better," said Director of Track and Field Mike Smith.
"Emma Taylor ran the 200 today and her time of 24.37 is now No. 2 all time at the academy. She now sits only behind Calli McMullen on our all-time list in both the 60 and the 200. She is racing at a very high level right now and looks to only get better as we move into the championship season.
"Our other record setter today was Joanna Halfhill. Yesterday, she anchored our Distance Medley to a new all-time mark and today she took down the academy record in the 1,000 meters. I thought she might have a shot at that mark (2:50) given how she has been training and she went after it from the gun. What I am most impressed with about Joanna is how steady she is. She never gets worked up or over aroused no matter how big the stage. She has a calmness and even keeled approach to competition that allows her to really focus in on the minute details of executing a race plan. She did everything right today and was rewarded with an Army all-time best.
"The oval results in general were all outstanding for our women today. It was clear that our team came to work this weekend. I was really pleased with how well we performed. The best Army performance of the day wasn't a record setting mark and wasn't a race on the track. It was a shot put throw from Emily Fink. To be clear, Emily has thrown the shot put farther than her winning throw today. We went 1-2 in the shot with Emily Fink and the ever-improving Kayley Ragazzini close behind. But today was Emily's first competition in close to two years and when she stepped into the ring she signaled a return to competition that we have long waited for. She was having fun out there. It was great for me to just see her in her element again. Really, I think today was not at all about the outcome; rather it was about Emily doing what she loves to do and doing it with her teammates. It was such a great moment for her and for our team. The weekend was productive on many levels and now I think we are ready to tackle the challenges of the championship season."