GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Newberry College men's and women's track and field teams had an historic showing at the two-day Alachua County Collegiate Invitational on Thursday and Friday.

Over the course of the event, the Wolves broke eight school records and hit a national qualifying mark.

"This meet was historic for our program and really shows the work we have been putting in across the board this season," said Head Men's and Women's Track and Field Coach Mashario Morton. "I love the energy our athletes bring to the competition and the support they have for each other. This is a different Newberry Track and Field team and it excites me that we are just getting started."

Among the record-breakers for Newberry was Irma Watson-Perez (Sanford, Fla.), whose 17.13-meter weight throw not only broke a school record, it also earned her first place honors at the meet and on the SAC Performance List. It also places Watson-Perez at No. 23 nationally in the weight throw.

Andrea Pascual-Rivera's throw of 14.62 meters, and Kennedy Myers' (Hopkins, S.C.) 14.4-meter throw places them in second and third on the SAC Performance list to give the Wolves the top-three spots on the women's chart.

Jase Hunter (McDonough, Ga.) had a 17.04-meter weight throw to take the top spot on the men's side of the Newberry record books, the top spot in the meet, and it tightened his hold on the No. 1 position on the SAC Performance List. Parker Pitts (Prosperity, S.C.) and Jon Williams (Columbia, S.C.) are now second and third on the SAC Performance List after throws of 16.83 and 16.05 meters, respectively, giving the Wolves the top-three spots on the men's side as well.

Kegan Crowell's (Beaufort, S.C.) weight throw of 14.82 meters ensured the Wolves four of the top five spots at the invitational.

Emma Johnson (Clover, S.C.) put her name atop the Newberry record books for women in the 60-meter hurdles, running a time of 9.26 seconds. Sarah Abumere's (Waynesboro, Ga.) 200-meter time of 25.33 seconds was another of the school records set during the meet, while Alaya Lindquist (Loganville, Ga.) also etched her name in the top spot of the school record books with a time of 3:25.88 in the 1,000-meter dash.

Fellow 1,000-meter runner Larry Scott's time of 2:47.70 earned him the Newberry record for men.

Rounding out the Wolves' record-setters during the meet were Freshmen newcomers Steven Phan and Zachary Counts. Phan cleared the bar in the pole vault with a mark of 3.9 meters (12 feet, 9.5 inches), while Counts' shot put heave of 14.45 meters earned him a second-place showing in Gainesville.

"Proud of how this staff and team has come together and continued to improve," Jimmy Stephens, Director of Track and Field/Cross Country at Newberry, said. "There is still a ton of work to do to achieve our goals. We are building a national caliber team that will be competitive in one of the strongest Track and Field conferences in the nation. We are making great strides forward to achieve those goals. I cannot say enough about our coaches and the work they are doing."

The Wolves' next meet will take place on Feb. 9 at the Champion Challenge in Winston-Salem, N.C.