Cheong & Finnegan Named Landmark Conference Women's Track & Field Athletes of the Week
TOWSON, Md. --- Moravian College junior hurdler/jumper Melissa Cheong and senior thrower Jackie Finnegan have been named the Landmark Conference Women’s Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week for their performances in the Lehigh University Fast Times Before Finals meet last Saturday.
TOWSON, Md. --- Moravian College junior hurdler/jumper Melissa Cheong and senior thrower Jackie Finnegan have been named the Landmark Conference Women's Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week for their performances in the Lehigh University Fast Times Before Finals meet last Saturday.
Cheong had a pair of ECAC qualifying marks in the meet. She was third in the 60-meter hurdle finals in an ECAC qualifying time of 9.43 seconds, and she was fifth in the long jump with an ECAC qualifying leap of 5.19 meters (17-0.5). Cheong reached the finals of the 60-meter hurdles after a time of 9.53 seconds in the preliminaries, which was tied for the fourth fastest time.
"Mel's battled a few nagging injuries the past three weeks but has still been able to perform extremely well," stated Head Coach Jesse Baumann. "She had a great high jump last week, a nice long jump on Saturday, and she pleasantly surprised herself with a really good hurdle time in Finals on Saturday as well. We're hoping to get her to NCAAs in Chicago in March and the early signs of her season are showing that could happen."
Finnegan hit the ECAC qualifying mark in the 20-pound weight throw at Lehigh with a toss of 14.58 meters (47-10), the fifth best throw in school history, to finish fourth in the event.
"We've put a little more emphasis on the weight throw with Jackie this year and so far it's paying off as she's been off to a strong start and is currently in the top 25 in the country," noted Baumann. "As with Mel, we're aiming for NCAAs with Jackie and although she still has to throw a little further to reach that, the early season signs are very encouraging."
Moravian is scheduled to return action after a month off on Saturday, January 14, 2017 in the Great Dane Classic being competed at Ocean Breeze Complex in Staten Island, New York.
