BOSTON, Mass. – It was a weekend to remember for the Manhattanville University track and field team at the UMass Lowell Riverhawk Invitational as the Valiants went toe-to-toe against elite programs across all the NCAA Divisions. New records were set and plenty of new names were etched into the program's top ten lists as part of the two-day event in Boston.

The women were in action on Friday, led by Jayda Birch's (Queens, N.Y./Excelsior Preparatory) efforts in the shot put and the 400 meter. The senior took first place in the field of 31 in the shot put open with a mark of 12.02 meters, breaking the program's indoor record in the event. Birch passes teammate Gabrielle Billetz' (Clarksburg, Mass./Hoosac Valley) previous top mark of 11.50 meters recorded three years ago.

Also showing off her speed, Birch clocked in with a time of 1:06.68 in the 400 meter, taking 25^th overall in the open with the Valiants' second fastest split in the event.

Six other Valiants were in action over the course of Friday, with Uzoma Nweze (Valley stream, Long Island/Valley Stream North High school), Saage Palmer (Brooklyn, N.Y./Medgar Evers College Preparatory School) and Samiyah Samuels () each running in the 60-meter dash. The trio finished withing six spots of each other, with Nweze leading the pack with a time of 9.01 seconds, good for 79^th. Palmer's time was right on her heels, crossing in 9.04 to take 81^st, while Samuels posted a 9.35, placing 85^th.

The three were then joined by Lilly Savnik (Mastic, N.Y./William Floyd) in the 200 dash, with Nweze once again leading her teammates by placing 67^th with a 29.62-second showing. Palmer took 69^th (30.23 seconds), following by Samuels (72^nd, 32.07) and Savnik (75^th, 34.96).

Alicia Bibi (Marlborough, Mass./Marlborough) repped Manhattanville in her return to her home state, placing 75^th in the 800 meter with a time of 3:08.66. Jennifer Oliveros (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) was the last Valiant in action on Friday, clocking in at 13:45.50 in the 3000 meter race.

It was the men's time to shine on Saturday as six new entries were made in the program record book. Alex Carney (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Mount Vernon High School) posted the program's sixth-best time in the indoor 60-meter dash with a mark of 7.33 seconds, taking 71^st in the competition. Over in the 400, Aka Udeagha (Rye, N.Y./Rye) and Khalil Williams (Menands, N.Y./Shaker) logged Manhattanville's fourth and sixth-best times respectively, with Udeagha's 52.63 finish claiming 30^th and Williams placing 38^th with a 53.36 time.

Christian Zita (Freehold, N.J./Colts Neck) placed 28^th in the 500-meter, with his time of 1:22.83 good for 7^th place in the Valiant records. Zach Garrant (Poughkeepsie, NY/Spackenkill High School) placed his name into 9^th overall in the mile with a time of 4:55.79, placing 88^th overall. Finally, the 4x400 relay team of Joey DeMilio (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains), Udeagha, Carney and Willaims finished in 21^st with a time of 3:37.68, the program's fifth-fastest recorded time.

DeMilio also ran the mile alongside Garrant, placing 81^st with a time of 4:50.31. Darlig Delgado (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore Senior) was the lone Valiant in action in the 3000 meter, placing 81^st with an 11:18.43 to close out a solid weekend of competition.

Up Next
The Valiants return to New York for next weekend's action at the NYU DIII Invitational on Feb. 14.

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