The St. John’s University Track & Field team captured its first Indoor Metropolitan Championship title since 1989 in dramatic fashion, edging Rutgers 147-142, in action at the New Balance Armory in New York City on Saturday, Jan. 29. Island Trees High School alumna Michelle Duffy helped capture this title for the school.
Duffy is a sophomore English major at St. John’s. She placed second in the 1,000-meter and scored eight points, qualifying for the Big East Championship that was held on Saturday, Feb. 19. This was a career-best for Duffy.
The St. John’s Track & Field team placed 10th and sported two individual titles at the 2011 Big East Indoor Championships at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. The top 10 team finish was the first for the Red Storm since the 2006 Championships when the team placed sixth.
Additionally Duffy ran the lead of leg on the 4×800-meter relay at the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden on Friday, Jan. 28, placing first.
Duffy missed all of the previous season due to a leg injury, but has returned to the team, at the positions of mid-distance and jumps.
Before her college track career, Duffy was a five-year letter-winner and four-year captain in track for Island Trees High School. She captained JV soccer team, finishing seventh in the freshman mile at nationals. She was a six-time Nassau county champion and a four-time state meet qualifier in the high jump and 1,500-meters.
Duffy also finished third in the 1,500-meter race at the 2008 Derrick Atkins meet, made the Milesplit U.S. First Team Elite in the 1,000-meter race in 2009, and holds school records in the high jump, 400-meter, 600-meter, 800-meter, 1,000-meter, 1,500-meter and 2,000-meter steeplechase. Academically, she is a member of the National Honor Society.
Nine different athletes earned All-Big East status by contributing to score the squad’s 38 points, and St. John’s posted season-best performances in seven different events.
St. John’s currently has 14 athletes qualified for the ECAC Indoor Championships in Boston, MA, on Saturday, Mar. 5. The team competes locally again on Friday, Feb. 25 at the Armory in New York City in the NYU Last Chance event. Visit http://www.redstormsports.com for the full season schedule and statistics.
