The College proudly hosted the annual New Jersey Invitational on Saturday with competitors from more than a dozen colleges. The women's track and field team won the meet and the men's team claimed second place despite poor weather conditions.
The women won with 183 points, followed by Ithaca College. The men's team earned 142.50 points, tailing first-place Ithaca College by 11 points.
"It's always hard to come with a positive attitude when the conditions are so bad, but it was so great to see the whole team ready to come out and compete so well. I'm glad we could look past the weather and perform," freshman jumper Emma Tucci said.
Senior Kristen Tricocci won the 200 meters in 26.24 seconds, and junior Jianna Spadaccini took first place in the 400 meters with a time of 57.76 seconds, both ECAC-qualifying times. Sophomore Meryl Wimberley also ran an Eastern Conference Atlantic Conference (ECAC) qualifying time of 59.38 seconds to finish third in the 400 meters.
In distance events, senior Martine McGrath won the 3,000 meters in 10:25:09, Senior Stephanie Herrick took second in the 1,500 meters with 4:41:94 minutes, an ECAC-qualifying time.
Junior Priscilla Senyah won the 100-meter high hurdles in 15.02 seconds, an ECAC worthy time, and junior Meghan Miller took second in the 400 intermediate hurdles in 1:06:85.
The women's team also excelled in field events. Sophomore Cristina D'Amato won the shot put with a throw of 11.40 meters and claimed second in the discuss with a throw of 35.31 meters. Sophomore Sarah Wehrhan took second in the hammer throw at 40.70 meters, followed by teammate Ashley Krauss at 39.34 meters.
Tucci placed third in the long jump with a distance of 5.19 meters. The Lions also won the 4x400 relay and took second in the 4x100.
The men's team had three first-place finishes. Senior Rob McGowan won the 400 meters with an ECAC-qualifying mark of 50.04, and sophomore TJ Bocchino won the 3,000 meters in 8:42.23. The Lions' 4x400 relay also took first at 3:22:60 with a team of sophomore Jule Brooks, senior Pasquale DiGioacchino, junior DeShard Stevens and McGowan. Their time qualifies them for the ECAC Championships.
Senior Al Wonesh placed second in the 400 hurdles with an ECAC time of 56.06 seconds.
In the hammer throw, three Lions placed in the top five. Zach Golstein claimed second with 44.22 meters, Steve Liccketto followed with 42.33 meters and Martin Brown was fourth throwing 40.71 meters.
Sophomore Alexander Necovski had a third-place finish in the shot put with a distance of 13.67 meters, and freshman Tim White also finished third in the 110-high hurdles with a time of 16.46 seconds.
"The rain really played a major factor on Saturday and I didn't get the numbers I was looking for," Necovski said. "However, some of my teammates had excellent performances both on the track and in the field. Like always, we have all week to practice hard and look forward to our next meet."
Next up for the Lions' track and field teams is the Greyhound Invitational at Moravian College. This competitive meet will span the weekend of April 17-18. With the Lions coming off a strong perfomance, look for them to impress this week.
