DCCC Delivers Dominant Showing at Millersville

Millersville, PA—The Millersville Invitational was one for the record books for Delaware County Community College Track and Field this past weekend. The Phantoms capitalized on warm weather and a small field size at Millersville University to dominate the competition, with every participating athlete setting a personal best mark. Two athletes also qualified to compete in additional events in the NJCAA Division III National Championships in May.

 

"Each athlete today reached a personal milestone that was significant to them, with some reaching goals that have been one to two years in the making," said Head Coach Cara Fordenbacher. "This was a huge week for the Phantoms. It is the time of the year where we expect to see times drop and big performances, but to have every single athlete perform to their best and set personal and school records is amazing."

 

Sophomore (Tre) Fred McCray blazed to the men's performance of the day in the 100m dash, running a 10.94 for a third-place finish. This is McCray's first time running under 11 seconds in the 100m, breaking his previous school record set in the National meet in 2023, and the first sub-11.00 result in program history. "I was thrilled to watch Tre reach this milestone," Fordenbacher said. "He has been with me from the start of my coaching career two years ago, so I know what this performance means not only to him but for the DCCC Track and Field program."

 

 "I'm incredibly proud not only of myself but every single one of my teammates here today," McCray said. "It's always great when any of us sets a PR, but having just about every single person set personal records is a sight to behold. I have confidence that we're going to end this season with a bang!" 

 

The depth of the day continued with Sophomores Aidan Heppard and Dennis Omane-Nketia each setting new personal bests in the 100m and 200m. Omane-Nketia finished 16th in the 100m with a time of 11.84, marking the first time he has run under 12 seconds in the event. Heppard's performance in the 200m of 22.48 and seventh overall in the event sets a new school record, just edging McCray's previous time set at Nationals in 2023.

 

First-year athlete Jimmy Love built further on last week's speedy performance, besting his times in the 100m (11.38, 10th overall) and 200m (23.23, 12th overall) and qualifying him in both events for the National meet, where he will also be representing the Phantoms in the 4x100m relay.

 

Sophomore Donovan Hughes and freshmen Dominic Copper, Daniel McLaughlin, and Alex Rendon all set new personal bests in their events.

 

On the women's side, comprising all first-year athletes, Fatumata Kaba placed first in both of her jumping events, easily beating the field and continuing her dominance in these events. She also sprinted to a 10th place finish in the 100m, securing National qualification in her third event in the process.

 

Natalie Torres bested her previous school record in the javelin, throwing 15.03m. Shannalecia Edwards set new personal bests in both her events, the 100m (14.75) and 200m (30.98). "She has been chipping away at her times and it is so nice to see her improvements each week," said Fordenbacher.

 

"It felt good to PR in both my events and it felt even better to know that I finally ran under 15, which really showed how much my hard work is paying off," Edwards said.

Fordenbacher praised her sophomores for their breakthrough performances. "Aidan, Donovan, Tre, and Dennis have all been working extremely hard and to see them reach their goals after two and three years is the best part of coaching," she enthused. "The Phantoms proved today that we are a force to be reckoned with, and I can't wait to see what the end of the season has in store!"

 

Up next: The men's 4x100m relay will be representing DCCC at the 129th Penn Relays at Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania on Friday, April 25. They compete in the Eastern Heats at 1:05pm. Saturday, April 26, the team will be traveling to Elizabethtown College to compete in The Miller Sports Construction Blue Jay Tune-Up, with field events starting at 10:30am and track events starting at 11:00am. This will be the last regular season meet for the Phantoms before the National meet.