By Malcolm Luck
Sports Editor
The women’s track and field team competed in the John Thomas Terrier Classic at Boston University on Friday, Jan. 26. The team’s impressive showing was highlighted by sophomore Samantha Gorman and junior Kathleen Jaeger, who both set New Jersey Athletic Conference season records in their respective events.
Gorman competed in the 400-meter event, placing 24th out of 88 competitors with a time of 57.81. In the same event, senior Jenna Ellenbacher, freshmen Shannon Lambert and Dana DeLuca and senior Meagan McGourty also finished with respective times of 59.64, 59.82, 1:00.25 and 1:00.73. With this performance, these five athletes now hold the top NJAC marks in the 400-meter event for the season.
Jaeger also set a new NJAC record at the 800-meter event with a time of 2:15.47. Jaeger’s mark broke sophomore Katie La Capria’s record set on Jan. 19 at the New York City Gotham Cup.
Although the Lions have been battling top-tier competition all season, head coach Justin Lindsey encourages the challenge for his squads.
“Both teams compete against DI and DII schools often throughout the season,” Lindsey said. “We make a point to schedule many meets with this level of competition because it enhances our teams readiness for postseason competition. Also, many of our athletes can compete at DI or DII schools so we make sure they get the chance to compete against those divisions to show how successful they can be against them. We prepare the same way for all competition.”
Only two runners from the men’s track and field team competed in the John Thomas Terrier Classic. In a deep field of competition, even Division I schools couldn’t muffle the noise made by juniors Noah Osterhus and Jack Wood.
In the 800-meter event, Osterhus set the mark for the College, placing 27th out of 106 with a time of 1:54.41. Wood finished in the middle of the pack with a time of 1:56.45, good for 53rd. With their performances, Osterhus and Wood respectively recorded the third and fourth fastest 800-meter times recorded in the NJAC this season.
The next day, both the men and women’s teams competed in the John Covert Classic at Lehigh University. Freshmen Alex Carideo and Pelle Nogueira, along with junior Brian Mitchell, dazzled in the 3000-meter event. In a slate with 41 competitors, Carideo, Mitchell and Nogueira finished in ninth, 10th and 11th place with times of 9:20.08, 9:20.42 and 9:27.66, respectively.
Junior Nathan Osterhus contributed with the 400-meter event, finishing at 12th place with a time of 53.20. Sophomore Tyler Andriopoulos was close behind, finishing the race in 53.69.
The women’s team, almost entirely represented by freshmen, competed like seasoned seniors.
Freshmen Jada Grisson and Rachel Lanzalotti ran for the College in the 60-meter dash, finishing in 8.27 and 8.37 respectively and earning them the 13th and 17th places in a slate of 49 competitors.
In the 800-meter event, freshmen Emily Hirsch, Emily Forester and Katelyn Morgan stuck together in a congested lineup of 46 competitors, recorded times of 2:32.39, 2:36.24 and 2:36.27 and won 18th, 22nd and 23rd places respectively. Freshman Jill Neggia was close behind, placing 33rd with her time of 2:40.61.
At the high jump, freshman Tamika Voltaire leapt her way to seventh place in a field of 17 competitors with a mark of 1.55 meters.
After a season of traveling, both the men and women’s teams return to action in Lawrenceville, New Jersey to take on Rider University on Friday, Feb. 2.
