STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Staying dry from the elements inside, the Manhattanville Men's and Women's Track & Field teams competed at the 2025 Big Apple Invitational at Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex. The Valiants had 15 athletes competing in nine events, competing against all divisions of college athletics.  

Matt Boggi (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) led the Valiant efforts turning in a personal best performance in the shot put, throwing a distance of 11.93m and placing 14th, improving on his then personal best from weeks prior by .36 meters. 

Shai Graham (Bronx, N.Y./Bronx Theatre High School), John Castaneda (Howell, N.J./Howell), and Luca Perez (Somers, N.Y./Somers) would all compete in the 200-meter dash, crossing the finish line in 23rd, 43rd, and 50th place, respectively. Graham would turn in a time of 23.34 while Castaneda would follow that up with a personal best time of 24.44, and Perez in his first ever running of the 200-meter dash at a time of 25.91. 

Freshman Aka Udeagha (Rye, N.Y./Rye) would lead the charge in the 400-meter dash, as the first year collected a split of 54.93, good enough for 35th place, as Zach Garrant (Poughkeepsie, NY/Spackenkill High School) slotted in right behind at 36th place at a time of 55.00. Courtney Brown (Clarendon, Jamaica/Mount Vernon) rounded out the 400, crossing the line with a time of 55.17 for 37th place. 

In the mile run, Joey DeMilio (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) would come in 23rd place clocking a time of 4:50.08, with Darlig Delgado (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore Senior) and Daniel Baldessarre (Highland Mills, N.Y./Monroe Woodbury) both turning in personal best efforts with times of 5:09.68 and 5:12.89, for 30th and 31st place respectively. 

On the women's side, Uzoma Nweze () notched two personal best times in the 60-meter and the 200-meter, placing 50th and 51st with times of 8.95 in the 60 and 29.08 in the 200. She was joined by Jennifer Schmidt in the 60-meter, as the senior placed in 49th with a time of 8.86, a few ticks shy of a personal best. 

Schmidt would run again in the 400-meter, as she collected a time of 1:07.54 for 24th place, being joined by Alicia Bibi (Marlborough, Mass./Marlborough), running in 29th place with a personal best time of 1:12.65. 

Gabrielle Billetz (Clarksburg, Mass./Hoosac Valley) and Florence Harrison (Melbourne, Australia/Balwyn High School) competed in the women's field events, placing in the shot put and weight throw. Billetz slotted in 12th place in the shot put, throwing a distance of 10.57m while Harrison turned in a distance of 7.29m in the weight throw. 

Up Next 

The Valiants head back to the familiar complex of The Armory for the New York University DIII Invitational on Feb. 15. 

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