GALLOWAY, N.J. — Two program records and 16 personal bests was the final total for the New Jersey City University men's and women's track and field teams on Friday, April 2, as the Gothic Knights competed at the Stockton Invite, hosted by Stockton University. There was no team scoring on either side on the day.

The highlight of the day came in the 5,000m races where, on the men's side, a pair of Gothic Knights broke the previous program record with personal-best times. Rookie Julius Libutsi (Jersey City, N.J./William L. Dickinson) placed ninth out of 16 runners with a time of 16:47.72, while sophomore Jose Recinos (Union City, N.J./Union City) was NJCU's top finisher in seventh with a program-record 16:45.47. Two other Knight runners notched PRs in the men's 5k as well — sophomore Jaime Tlatelpa (Jersey City, N.J./University Academy Charter) (10th place, 17:02.02) and freshman Topu Saha (Jersey City, N.J./William L. Dickinson) (13th place, 17:27.13). On the women's side, senior April Gutierrez (Jersey City, N.J./Dickinson) set her own program record in the 5,000m as she placed fourth out of six runners with a time of 21:03.28.

In the women's 100m dash, sophomore Lamya Young (Audubon, N.J./Audubon) set a personal record and placed second overall with a time of 13.67. Sophomore Zahria Thomas (Jersey City, N.J./Dickinson) (14.10, fourth place) also set a personal record. She was followed closed in fifth place by fellow sophomore Polina Agutina (Evaptoria, Poland/Number 6) at 14.56 — Agutina also set a PR in women's long jump later in the day, placing second overall with her penultimate attempt, a distance of 4.78m.

Junior Roger Campbell (Jersey City, N.J./Dickinson) had a strong day as he registered personal records in the men's 200m and 400m. He placed third overall in the 400m with a time of 52.58, while sophomore Xavier Freeman (Newark, N.J./St. Benedict's Prep) came in ninth out of 14 runners at 54.59. Freeman was NJCU's top finisher in the 200m, notching a personal-best 23.66 to place fourth. Campbell placed eighth with his PR of 24.07. Senior Tyshon Johnson (Newark, N.J./People's Prep Charter) was right behind him in ninth at 24.24 and was the Gothic Knights' top runner in the 100m, coming in fifth at 12.16.

In the 800m, freshman Jake Sisk (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway) placed eighth overall out of 25 runners, but was the second-highest non-Division I finisher. He finished behind six Fordham University runners, and one competitor from Stockton, notching a time of 2:05.81. On the field side of things for the men, junior Tyneil Jackson (Jersey City, N.J./Ferris) PRed in the long jump with his sixth and final attempt to place fifth at 5.66m. He also came in second in triple jump at 12.20m. Sophomore Matthew Davis (Jersey City, N.J./Dickinson) PRed in shot put for the second straight week, placing seventh with a toss of 10.11m.

Other Notables
- Senior Annaliza Lagman (Jersey City, N.J./Ferris) set personal records in both the 100m (21.24) and 400m (1:28.27) hurdles.
- Thomas was NJCU's top finisher in the women's 200m dash, placing fifth at 29.58.
- Freshman Jackeline Lopez (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth) competed in the 800m and notched a personal-best 3:06.06.
- Freshman Esdras Mendes notched a PR and placed second in men's high jump at 1.75m.

What's Next
Both Gothic Knight squads return to action next Friday, April 9, in Mahwah, N.J. for the first of two meets hosted by Ramapo College over the next three weeks.