By Miguel Gonzalez
Sports Editor
The College’s track and field team kicked off its winter season by hosting the TCNJ Indoor Opener at The Armory Track in New York City on Saturday, Dec. 2.
The Lions competed against 12 other teams that included conference opponents Rutgers University-Camden, Ramapo College and crosstown rival Princeton University.
The women had notable sprinting performances. Sophomore Samantha Gorman set the College’s record at the 300-meter dash, claiming third place with a time of 41.48. Senior Danielle Celestin and freshman Shannon Lambert were close behind as they finished in fifth and sixth place with times of 41.95 and 42.09, respectively.
Head coach Justin Lindsey commended Gorman’s record breaking performance.
“Sam is coming off of a strong freshman year and she is determined to be an NCAA Indoor qualifier in
multiple events,” Lindsey said. “The driving force behind her performance is her mindset that every race is important and she’s willing to give 150% mentally in every meet.”
In the shorter 60-meter dash, Celestin led the Lions with a second place finish, clocking in at 8.03. Just three milliseconds later, sophomore Kaila Carter followed in third place with a time of 8.06.
The Lions also dominated in relay events. Sophomore Nicole Tampone, freshman Dana Deluca, freshman Kim Lewis and senior Meagan McGourty received first place at the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 4:12.70. Afterward, senior Jenna Ellenbacher, junior Kathleen Jaeger, Gorman and Celestin took second place at the 1600-meter sprint medley and clocked in at 4:18.76.
Jaeger then captured second place in the 600-meter run and recorded a time of 1:39.16. Freshman Emily Hirsch was only a second behind Jaeger and finished in fourth place with a time of 1:40.53.
The team competed closely in the 60-meter hurdles. McGourty hurdled her way to a third place finish and recorded a time of 9.37. Carter was not far behind, claiming fifth place with a time of 9.94.
The freshmen excelled at the field events. Freshman Jada Covington leaped for 1.60 meters and took first at the high jump. Fellow freshman Ky’Ara McCray threw for 11.24 meters to take first at the shot put event.
The upperclassmen were competitive as well. Junior Madison Heft jumped at 2.90 meters and claimed second place at the pole vault. Sophomore Allison Zelinski cleared 10.33 meters to take second in the triple jump.
The men also had impressive performances. Junior Noah Osterhus captured second place in the 600-meter run and recorded a time of 1:21.33. His brother, junior Nathan Osterhus, competed among 36 opponents in the 300-meter dash and got 10th place with a time of 36.19. Following Nathan Osterhus, freshman Darin Clark finished in 13th place and clocked in at 36.79. Nearly a minute later, sophomore Tyler Andriopoulos took 19th place with a time of 37.78 in his debut for the Lions.
The men’s team then went toe-to-toe against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in the 1600-meter sprint medley. The squad of the Osterhus brothers, Clark and freshman Tariq Ali were narrowly behind first place Eastern Shore, placing in second with a time of 3:35.32.
Lindsey is confident that the freshman on the men’s and women’s track and field teams will go above and beyond this year.
“We have a very big freshmen class on the women’s and men’s teams,” Lindsey said. “For the women we think Ky’Ara McCray, Shannon Lambert, Jada Covington, Annette Wanjiku and Dana DeLuca will be big impact athletes for us this year. For the men we think Darin Clark, Harvy Porzuelo, Robert Abrams, Joe Erskine and Tana Gawe will be big impact athletes this season.”
The Lions will drive up to Princeton, New Jersey to compete in the New Year’s Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 9.
