The senior members of the track and field team led the way against Rider University in a dual meet this past weekend. The women’s team defeated the Broncos 89-75, while the men fell 89-74.
Multiple competitors earned first-place victories in their events, as well as broke their personal records.
On the women’s side, seniors Sarah Wehrhan and Miriam Khan set the bar high, winning a set of first place finishes and qualifiers. Khan broke the school record for the 200-meter race with a time of 25.13 seconds. She went on to also win the 55-meter dash. Her time of 7.25 seconds was an NCAA qualifier as well. Wehrhan’s set of first place finishes in field events qualified her for ECACs. She took first in both the 20-pound weight throw and the shot put.
Other standout performances included sophomore Cathy Goncalves, who won the women’s 3,000-meter race in 10:43.36 and met ECAC standards.
A trio of freshmen also placed first in their events. Brigit Roemer earned two wins, the triple jump with a distance of 11.43 meters and the high jump with 1.60 meters. Sprinter Katie Lindacher won the 55-meter high hurdles in 8.81 seconds. Rounding out the effort for the newcomers was Emily Kulcyk with a winning pole vault height of 2.45 meters.
“Even as a freshman you can tell that this meet means a lot,” Lindacher said. “The girls really put a lot into track today and to defeat Rider, a Division 1 school is an awesome accomplishment. I’m proud to say I’m part of the team.”
The Lions also took the women’s long relay. The team of Kulcyk, Khan and fellow seniors Alexandra Tomaselli and Meryl Wimberly qualified for ECACs with their time of 4:01.44.
Senior Kyle Gilroy had two first-place finishes on the day for the men’s side. The sprinter won the 55-meter high hurdles in 7.62 seconds and the 200-meter race in 22.77. Both times qualified Gilroy for the Eastern College Atlantic Conference as well as the NCAA Championships at the end of the season. Junior sprinter Chris Medina won the 55-meter dash in 6.56, also qualifying for ECACs.
The men’s long relay of freshman Kevin Mulcahey, sophomore Steven D’Aiutolo, junior Justin Worthing and senior Oluwaseye Akele ran for an ECAC qualifying time of 3:24.14 to also win the event. Senior Kyle Roos won the 3,000-meter race, the longest event at the meet, in 8:53.65.
“Winning is always a great feeling, especially in team scored meets,” Roos said. “We knew the meet would be close, and I just wanted to help any way I could. My teammates and I have been working extremely hard in practices, and we proved it today by competing with a D-1 program.”
