MANHATTAN, N.Y. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The New Jersey City University women's track and field team ended their second season under head coach Patrick O'Neill in outstanding fashion, taking fifth place in a crowded field of well over 20 teams at the ECAC Championships at the New Balance Track & Field Center in Manhattan, N.Y. on March 6-7.
 
This weekend was a huge moment for our team," O'Neill said. "We got off to a great start on Day 1. That energy and fire carried into Day 2, and we rose to the occasion."
 
The fifth-place finish represents a full 16-team jump from their 21st-place finish in 2018-19.
 
The Knights rode strong finishes from relatively new debutant Polina Agutina (Evaptoria, Poland/Number 6) (third) and Arame Diouf (Weehawken, NJ/Memorial) (seventh) in the Long Jump on Friday, as well as a third place finish in the 4x200 Meter Relay to sit in fifth after the Opening Day.
 
"Polina and Arame gave us a great start to the meet," O'Neill explained. "They both PRed and medaled, setting the tone early for the meet."
 
To remain in that lofty spot, the Knights collected 23 more points on Saturday, with two individuals and one relay doing all their scoring.
 
The individual who shined once again, was sophomore star Shania Robinson (Jersey City, NJ/Snyder). The Jersey City native had a distinguished Saturday, finishing third in the 400 Meter Dash (1:00.10), sixth in the 200 Meter Dash (26.73), and seventh in the 60 Meter Dash (8.17).
 
"Shania has an amazing weekend running five events in two days," O'Neill noted. "To bring home medals in each of those events is a testament to her work ethic and her progression as an athlete. Shania stepped up in every aspect this indoor season and the results speak for themselves. She had a tall order on Day 2 having just 20 minutes between each event, but she handled it with poise and stayed focused on the task at hand."
 
The other individual to score for NJCU was Tiffany Ortiz (Jersey City, NJ/University Academy Charter). The freshman sprinter took third place in the 500 Meter Dash, with a time of 1:25.41.
 
"Tiff capped off a great indoor season and ran a tactically sound race," O'Neill said. "For her to take third as a freshman is huge!"
 
Finally, the Knights relied on another excellent relay finish to collect enough points to finish top five, with the 4x400 Meter Relay taking third place thanks to a time of 4:23.25. The team consisted of: Ortiz, Shaneeka Benekin (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln), Violeta Sanders (Jersey City, NJ/Hudson Catholic), and Xarial Chandler (East Orange, NJ/University).
 
That concludes the 2019-20 Indoor Track & FIeld season for NJCU, but almost all the athletes will be back in action for the outdoor season which kicks off in just a few weeks at the St. Joseph's College Annual Spring Opener.
 
GOTHIC KNIGHTS on SOCIAL MEDIA:
For the latest on NJCU men's and women's track and field—#NJCUMTrack and #NJCUWTrack—follow the Gothic Knights on social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and SnapChat. We Are Jersey City's Team.