Lady Tigers Shine at Home: Three Golds Lead Towson to Victory at Invitational

By: D’Mari Dreher-Smith, Sports Editor

The Lady Tigers’ hosted 26 teams in this year’s Towson Invitational meet. Coming off of a record-breaking meet in Orlando, Florida, the Tigers’ wanted to show their strength at Johnny Unitas Stadium, right on their home track. 

“We go through really hard workouts on this track, specifically,” said Jennifer Maxwell, freshman distance runner. “Coming back and racing where we go through the really hard work gives a lot of cushion and confidence.” 

Field Events

The Tigers came out with high energy on day one, resulting in strong performances across the field. From explosive sprints to recurring personal bets, the tone was set for a successful meet.

In the shot put, junior thrower, Beyonka Lee, had an all-around dynamic showing, throwing 12m and above, securing second place with a final distance of 12.48m. In addition, freshmen Brandi Gochenauer and Aleah Schwartz found themselves on the podium, Gochenauer finishing fifth with a personal record of 11.74m and Schwartz placing sixth with a mark of 11.32.

Likewise in the triple jump, four Tigers sat in the top ten. Junior Kiara Murray took home second place with a 11.82m mark, Denee Hibbert following close behind at fourth with a 11.69 mark.

Chayce Bryson and Camryn McMurray secured eighth and ninth.

“All of our seniors work so hard,” said McMurray. “They set the standard. And we got freshmen, Nancy and I, all of our other girls, they’re following their lead.”

The Tigers success in the field didn’t stop there. Freshman Aniyah Toppin started the momentum on day two, finishing second-place in the long jump with a PR of 5.72m, ranking her sixth-place in the event in program history. Leeann Redlo and Murray trailed closely in the long jump, finishing fifth and sixth. 

Track Events

With only a few track events on day one, the Lady Tigers still made their dominance known. 

In the 400m hurdles, Spencer Settle took third place with a season-best time of 1:03.11. Redlo and Niomi Allison rounded out the top 5, with a 1:03.58 time from Allison and a personal record of 1:03.59 from Redlo.

Cristal Cuervo claimed second place in the 200m dash, clocking in at 24.26. She was closely trailed by Maya Tucker, who secured third with a time of 24.30, while Jasmine Scott finished fourth, setting a personal best of 24.88. Aniyah Toppin also notched a career milestone, posting a personal record of 25.57 in the event.

Baara Stewart delivered a winning performance in the 1500m run, crossing the finish line in 4:40.75 to claim first place. Hot on her heels, Lexi Mogensen secured second with a time of 4:41.01—fast enough to etch her name into the program’s history books at eighth place all-time in the event.

Day two was all Towson.

Towson’s A-Team of Aniyah Toppin, Cristal Cuervo, Nancy Hudson, and Maya Tucker blazed to victory in the 4x100m relay, clocking 46.30—good for eighth all-time in program history. The B-Team, featuring Qiora Rollins, Giselle Badoo, Stella Anani, and Princess Asante, grabbed a strong third-place finish.

Freshman Mari Collick made her mark in the 3000m steeplechase, posting a time of 11:48.19—the 10th-fastest in program history.

In the 400m, Stewart, Allison, and Kelis Milburn all notched personal bests. Stewart and Allison placed sixth and eighth, respectively, with Milburn finishing 11th.

Redlo continued Towson’s record-breaking day in the 100m hurdles, running a PR of 14.08 to take second place and move up to fourth all-time in program history.

“It was a really magical feeling today, just to see any improvement like that was already insane,” said Redlo. “So to know that I’m like, moving up the record for it on my home track was really cool.”

Tucker sprinted to gold in the 100m finals with a season-best 11.50, while Christal Pommells followed in third with a 12.04 finish.

“For the prelims, I had kind of rushed out my start a little bit, just because, like, I knew I was most likely going to be ahead,” said Tucker. “So I just kind of translated that for the final to make sure I was patient.”

Lexi Mogensen secured a runner-up finish in the 5000m, while Maxwell crossed the line in fourth.

Towson closed out the meet in dominant fashion as Milburn, Rollins, Stewart, and Pommells powered to first place in the 4x400m relay, stopping the clock at 3:50.28.

The Tigers are set to host the Towson Twilight Senior Meet back at home on Friday, Apr. 4.