The College’s men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams both got the new semester off to a good start by placing well in the “Saturday Night at the Armory I” event at the 168th St. Armory in New York, N.Y.
The event had 21 teams attending, including competitive Division I schools like Connecticut, St. John’s, Rutgers and Princeton. In a field with as high of a quality as this, the Lions did a nice job of letting their presence be known.
“The competition was very high at the meet, but this usually only helps our team,” said senior Shaun McGeever. “The (College’s) team is full of many talented athletes, so big competition can lead to some great results. Sure, anyone can feel a bit nervous being the only Division III runner or jumper in the event, but with a little confidence, there’s nothing stopping us from competing on the same level.”
For the men, the College had some top 10 finishes that were headlined by senior Christopher Medina who placed third in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.01 seconds, and 10th in the 200-meter dash, racing to an ECAC qualifying time of 22.53 seconds.
Junior Alex Brown grabbed fifth place in the 500 meters with a time of 1:05.39. McGeever also grabbed 10th in the mile, running a 4:18.40, another ECAC qualifying time. Other top finishers included freshmen Louis Fisher and James O’Connor, who ran an 8.80 and a 9.26 for 11th and 13th place respectively in the 60-meter hurdles.
“I was very pleased with my performance and qualifying time,” McGeever said. “This is the first time that I have qualified for ECAC’s as an individual. It is definitely a relief to have qualified this early in the season, because now I can focus on other events with my teammates like the distance medley relay.”
The women managed to keep up with the big dogs by having some top finishes as well, being the top Division III runners in certain events. In the 1,000 meter, senior Katie Nestor was the first Division III runner to cross the finish line as she came in third overall with a time of 3:00.26. Freshman Liz Johnson was right behind her as the second D-III runner to complete the race, coming in fifth at 3:01.80.
The College scored in other events as well. Freshman Melinda Rothman was eighth in the pole vault by clearing 2.90 meters. Sophomore Anginelle Alabanza pushed to be the top Division III runner in the mile, finishing in ninth place with a time of 5:22.51. In the 500 meters, the top two Division III runners were both Lions as sophomore Emily Kulcyk and freshman Katelyn Ary were 11th and 12th with times of 1:19.95 and 1:21.01, respectively.
Overall, the men finished eighth with 13 points and the women came in 11th with 10.5 points, both impressive when the level of competition is taken into account.
“This is definitely the best track season I have had here at TCNJ, and I am excited to see where it can take me and what I can do,” McGeever said.
The College’s track and field teams will be back in action on Friday when they travel to Haverford College.
