(Utica, NY) - When Track & Field was added as a varsity sport at Westchester Community College, the vision was to build the kind of program that will compete with the very best that the nation has to offer ... one day. Little did the originators of the program know that their vision would become the reality before the first varsity season of competition was complete. At the NJCAA National Track and Field Championships, held at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, New York, not only did the Vikings go toe-to-toe with the very best the nation had to offer, but the results were incredible. The Westchester CC women earned a finish of #17 in the nation, while the men's team placed #23 nationally. With two top-25 finishes to usher in Track & Field to Westchester Community College, to say the future is bright could be an understatement.

On the women's side, sophomore Alysha Owens (Mount Vernon, NY/Mount Vernon HS) ended her Viking career with a spectacular performance, earning a top-10 finish in four different events. She was in the national championship picture in the Hammer Throw, finishing in fourth place with a personal record effort of 31.56 meters, scoring five team points. In the Shot Put, Owens finished in sixth place, scoring three team points with a 10.23 meter throw. She also finished in ninth and tenth place in the Javelin and Discuss Throw, respectively.

On the men's side, sophomore Giovani Castillo (North White Plains, NY/Valhalla HS) enjoyed a terrific weekend, finishing in eighth place in the Hammer Throw to earn one team point. Also for the Vikings, freshman Randy Culcay (Ossining, NY/Ossining HS) earned a 12th place finish in the 1500 meter race, while freshman Kumani McLean earned a 26th place finish in the 200-meter dash.

Westchester Community College is now complete with their first varsity season Track & Field, and looks forward to even bigger and better things now that the program is fully off of the ground.

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