After winning 11 events on Monday at the University’s DaSilva Memorial Track, the St. John’s women’s track team traveled to the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa. on Thursday to compete in a three day event.

After a successful month in April, The Johnnies are returning to the Penn Relays, where last year they set records in the 4×200 meters and were runner-up in the ECAC [A1] division.

The Red Storm struggled to finish in the top five for the first time in three weeks, but was still able to finish in the top 10 in three events.

One of the bright spot for St. John’s was in the hammer throw championship, where senior Danette Hinton finished in sixth place for the Red Storm. Hinton, with a throw of 57.07 meters, claimed a new personal best for herself and moved into fourth place as St. John’s best of all time.

“The competition and atmosphere was unmatched by any other meet we’ve been to thus far,” Hinton said. “I was happy to be able to beat my personal record with so much pressure on me, as well as to compete with my twin sister. It got me excited to improve for the regional meet in Florida.”

“The Penn Relays highlighted the strength of our team with great performances in the hammer, sprint and mid-distance relays,” coach Jim Hurt said.

In the ECAC 4×400 meters relays, the Johnnies finished fifth in the heat with a combined time of 3:38.18. The team was led by sophomore Pariis Garcia, junior Claire Mooney, senior Shayna Presley and senior Amber Allen.

In the 4×800 relays, St. John’s finished eighth overall with a combined time of 9:07.2 in a field of 19 teams. The relay team was led by sophomore Veronica Thompson (2:13.77), sophomore Stephanie Vanpelt (2:15.94), junior Natasya Rodriquez (2:18.10) and sophomore Michelle Vanpelt (2:19.43).

“Our ladies proved that they could compete with the best in the nation on the largest stage of our sport,” Hurt said. “I am very proud of all their efforts and look forward to more great things next weekend at home for the Tom Farrell Classic.”

The Johnnies next track meet will be on May 3, where they will host their season’s final home meet at DaSilva Memorial Track in Queens before going into the Big East Championship.