By Gregory Liddy
Correspondent
The men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in several events at the Chester Quarry Classic, hosted by Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania on Saturday, April 14.
The warm weather, clear skies and light breezes of the weekend were delightful for spectators, and Lions head coach Justin Lindsey was glad to see his team thriving under a pleasant environment.
“The warm weather made a big difference,” Lindsey said. “The team was excited to compete in the warm conditions.”
At the Chester Quarry Classic, the men had a particularly good showing in all disciplines.
Senior Nicholas Genoese overcame the slight headwind to place fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.17, just one-hundredth of a second behind freshman Eric Vassell of Buffalo State College, the State University of New York. Genoese also competed in the 200-meter dash, placing sixth with a time of 22.50.
The middle distance events proved to be exciting races for the Lions as well.
In the 800-meter event, junior Noah Osterhus battled to the line with West Chester University junior Josh Coakley, running a time of 1:55.21 for the victory. Senior Dale Johnson was close behind in third with a time of 1:56.02.
Lindsey complimented Osterhus’ effort to claim first place.
“Noah maintained his composure down the home stretch and pushed all the way to the finish line,” Lindsey said.
The Lions pulled some quick times at the 1500-meter event. Freshman Robert Abrams lead the charge and placed fifth overall with a time of 3:57.75. Junior Jack Wood, moving up in distance and tackling the event for the first time, ran a time of 3:58.53. Both runners are currently the eighth and ninth-fastest in the region.
Senior Andrew McNutt had a very good showing in both the high jump and the triple jump. In the high jump, McNutt cleared the 1.80-meter mark for sixth place. In the triple jump, McNutt jumped 13.88 meters for second in the competition and sixth in the regional rankings.
The women also performed well at the Classic. Sophomore Samantha Gorman was a strong competitor in the long sprints, placing second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.53 and winning the 400-meter dash in 57.81, a time that placed her second in the regional rankings.
In the 100-meter hurdles, sophomore Kaila Carter ran 15.07 for second place just fractions of a second behind senior Ashley Morris of Wesley College. Senior Jenna Ellenbacher placed second in the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 1:03.22, ranking her second in the region.
The Lions compete at Princeton University’s Multi Meet held from Wednesday, April 18 to Thursday, April 19. The team then splits for two meets during the weekend.
Some Lions will travel to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for the Greyhound Invitational at Moravian College from Friday, April 20 to Saturday, April 21.
Meanwhile, some team members will also return to Princeton, New Jersey to run at the Larry Ellis Invitational on Friday, April 20. Lindsey anticipates the team taking bigger strides of progress as they prepare for New Jersey Athletic Conference championship.
“I’m looking forward to our team improving its performances to improve our seeds heading into conference (championship),” Lindsey said.
