Sharks excel in first home meet at NSU since 2022

COURTESY OF NSU ATHLETICS
Women’s track team competes in the first home meet on Feb. 28.

The NSU men’s and women’s track and field teams had their first home meet since 2022, during the NSU Shark Invite on Feb 28. Robert Baroniel, assistant athletic director of athletic external affairs, said that scheduling would not allow NSU Athletics to host one for the past three years.

Jonathan Carter, head cross country/track & field coach, was excited for the teams to compete at home in front of NSU staff and students.

“When you actually get an opportunity to see [the meet] happen live and in-person, it does wonders for not only the student-athletes, but for the staff and the fans that were there watching it,” Carter said. “They can really see how energetic the student-athletes were about it and how committed they are to representing the NSU track team.”

With three meets remaining in the 2025 season until the NCAA Divison II Outdoor Championships from May 22-24, the Shark Invite established momentum for success as both teams accumulated 25 total top five finishes. The women’s team was led by record-breaking performances from Jillian Thorning, sophomore biology major, as she broke the school record in the 800M and 1500M events with final times of 2:14.75 (800M) and 4:31.80 (1500M).

“I definitely surprised myself at this point in the season with the times I ran. I wasn’t really expecting to have the speed yet, so I’m kind of excited for the rest of the season,” Thorning said. “I think that there’s more to come from me and my teammates as well.”

Thorning attributed her performance to the energy of competing at home and the support of her teammates.

“I’m proud of my teammates and it was really cool to do it at our home meet,” Thorning said. “I’m happy with all the support I’ve gotten and I’m excited to see where the rest of the season goes.”

Phillip DiMarco, freshman exercise sports science major, who led the men’s team by earning top-two individual finishes in the 400M and 200M dash, also acknowledged the unique atmosphere of the home meet.

“It was cool competing at a meet where there’s actually people I know there because in Tampa and places like that, people don’t travel to see it,” DiMarco said. “Because it was so close to campus, there were a lot of people there, like friends and family.”

Following the Shark Invite, the Sharks competed in the St. Thomas University Under The Lights Invite on March 7 where they earned 14 top-10 finishes on the women’s side and 11 on the men’s side. Both teams went to compete in the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational in South Carolina from March 21-22, where both teams earned 11 top-10 finishes. The Sharks will race again April 4-5 during the ERU Running Elements Classic at Daytona Beach.

Bella Giaquinto contributed to this report.

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