The College had a busy weekend competing in its second at-home meet, hosting the annual Lions' Invitational as well as attending the prestigious Penn Relays.
More than 30 teams met on the track to compete in the non-team scoring events. Teams from all three NCAA divisions competed along with several junior colleges.
"A lot of our families and friends came to support us and the encouragement they give is really meaningful especially during a race," sophomore distance runner Michelle Wallace said.
In the 400-meter hurdles, junior Otto Katt placed second overall and earned an East Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC) qualifying time of 56.85 seconds. Senior Andy Lim took third place in the triple jump with a leap of 13.35 meters. In the long jump he placed fourth with a distance of 6.60 meters. Both marks met ECAC standards.
Other highlight performances came from senior Galen Johnson in the 1,500-meters. Johnson finished fifth with a time of 4:03.98. Senior Pat Flinn also had a solid meet. He placed in both the 100-and 200-meter dashes. Flinn was 10th in 11.75 seconds for the 100-meters, and eighth in the 200-meters with a sprint of 23.30 seconds.
The College had two top-10 performances in the high jump. Freshman Shawn Rembecky took fourth as he cleared 1.85 meters, while freshman Oluwaseye Akele was ninth at 1.75 meters.
"The later it gets into the season the harder it becomes to qualify for certain championship meets," Akele said. "If I am able to make it to compete at those types of meets than I know, naturally, that I will have improved."
In the throwing events, senior Brian Donatelli captured fifth in the shot put (14.76 meters) and seventh in the hammer throw (43.66 meters). Donatelli's shot put performance earned him an ECAC appearance. Sophomore Steve Liccketto also earned an ECAC distance in the shot put. Liccketto was eighth in the event with a distance of 14.43 meters. Additionally, he took seventh in the hammer throw with 42.36 meters.
Senior Jessica Bonelli met a NCAA provisional time in the 400 meters, finishing in 56.09 seconds and capturing first place. In the 1,500 meters, sophomore Michelle Wallace had a personal record. Wallace took sixth and met an ECAC time of 4:54.89.
"It had been a goal of mine to get to that time," Wallace said. "I think the team is really starting to come together and our hard work that we have been putting in is paying off."
Sophomore Priscilla Senyah had an impressive meet. She took fourth in the 100-meter high hurdles, capturing an ECAC time with her 15.37 second-place finish. Senyah was also seventh in the 100-meter dash (13.20 seconds).
In the 400-meter hurdles, freshman Alexandra Tomaselli's time of 1:07.48 received a seventh-place finish. Junior Justine Carnevale was eighth in the 800 meters (2:25.44), while senior Lauren Pfeifer took sixth in the 200 meters (27.47 seconds).
In the field events, sophomore Danielle Kedzierski placed sixth in the javelin with a toss of 31.80 meters. Pfeifer contributed a fifth-place finish in the pole vault as she cleared an ECAC height of 3.37 meters.
While hosting the annual Lions' Invitational, other track team members headed to the University of Pennsylvania to compete at the Penn Relays.
The men's 4x400-meter relay took part in the meet and had a solid performance, posting an ECAC-qualifying time. Representing the College was junior Pasquale DiGioacchino, freshman Jule Brooks, freshman Kyle Gilroy and sophomore DeShard Stevens. Together they posted a time of 3:19.57.
The women's 4x800-meter relay attended the Penn Relays and claimed the top performance of the day. The team of junior Stephanie Herrick, sophomore Jianna Spadaccini, senior Sara Best and freshman Meryl Wimberly placed seventh. They set a school record in a time of 9:08.95.
The women's 4x400-meter relay also traveled to the competition. The quartet of Bonelli, Herrick, Spadaccini and freshman Meryl Wimberly posted a NCAA provisional time of 3:51.33.
Junior Martine McGrath individually competed in the 5,000 meters on Thursday and clocked a finishing time of 17:56.78.
The team now has the championship season ahead of them. Based on the performances so far, the results look promising. Entering this portion of the season, the team feels strong.
"We have been preparing for this portion since fall training," Akele said. "Our first focus is to ensure we win NJACs and as our competition gets tougher it will better prepare the team for Nationals."
"As a team we have very high expectations," head coach Eric Mobley said. "We experienced a few injuries to some key people, and these are things we can't change. However, I'm happy to see the team come together, despite these setbacks, and I'm very proud of all their hard work."
