By Andrew Hornback

Junior Andre Black won his third Big East triple jump title as the men’s track & field team finished third overall at the Big East Indoor Championships. 

Black was followed by teammates senior Michael Johnson, Jr. and junior Tone Belt who finished second and third in the triple jump, respectively. 

“I wasn’t feeling at my best, but I did my best for the team,” Black said. “We did real well in the triple jump finishing first, second, and third I think we could have won as a team. We did our best to get as many points as possible, but we had our ups and downs, which will always happen when you are competing in the Big East championships.” 

The Cards were in first place as a team after day one, but was not able to hang on to the lead. 

“Our weakness is sprinting right now, and there were a lot of sprinting events on day two that caused us to drop to third place,” Black said. If you look back at us as a team throughout the years, we usually do well in the field events but then drop down the standings during the sprinting events.” 

The women’s team also finished third overall, behind Connecticut and Georgetown. They accumulated a team record of 88 points during the event. 

Shot put was the most successful event on the women’s side, as freshmen Khadija Abullah and Chinwe Okoro finished second and third, while sophomore D’Ana McCarty finished third. 

Junior Tarah McKay broke her own school record in the mile run with a 4:40.18 finish and finished No. 15 in the 3,000 meter event. 

Other notable performances on the women’s side include junior Saravia Richardson’s No. 5 finish in the 60-meter, junior Rachel Gehret’s No. 4 finish in the high jump, and senior Seidre Forde’s placed second in the triple jump. 

Next up for both teams will be the Alex Wilson Invitational at Notre Dame this week, although a few members from both sides will be heading to Virginia Tech to compete. 

“I think I did well at the Big East Indoors,” Belt said. “I did a lot of things I wanted to do. I improved on long jump and feel like I did enough to qualify for nationals. I broke my personal record in the triple jump, and that’s always something to feel good about. The high jump is the only thing I wish I could have back and do again, I hold the Big East indoor record in the event and felt I could’ve done better than that.” 

As for the Alex Wilson Invitational, Belt has goals that go beyond the Big East. 

“My objective going up there is to make sure I stay top eighteen in nationals and once I get to nationals in the high jump and long jump it will be different from there,” he said. “It’s a way to qualify for nationals and go compete in my events and go from there.” 

Black will be heading to Virginia Tech. 

“My personal goals are just to keep moving forward and improve from the Big East indoors. What I would really like is for us as a team to place higher,” Black said. “I just have to make sure and do my part to ensure that happens. 

The Alex Wilson Invitational will be hosted by Notre Dame and will begin this Friday.