By Christine Houghton
Sports Editor
Over winter break, the men’s and women’s indoor track teams competed in several invitational meets, with the women placing very high among crowds of competitors.
Traveling to Princeton for the Princeton New Year’s Invitational on Dec. 8, both the men’s and women’s teams put forth a valiant effort, with the women placing many runners on the podium.
On Jan. 11, the teams traveled to New York City to compete in the Ramapo Season Opener with both teams placing runners. Jan. 12 was a successful day for both teams at the Lions’ Indoor Invitational in New York City with the women placing fifth out of 14 teams and the men taking ninth out of 15.
On Jan. 18, the team dominated in the NYC Gotham Cup with the men placing 13th out of 41 teams and the women taking first out of 33. The following day, the Lions traveled to Ursinus College for the Collegeville Classic, where the women grabbed the fifth spot out of 19 teams and the men took sixth out of 24.
For a two-day meet on Friday, Jan. 25 and Saturday, Jan. 26, the teams participated in the Bucknell University Bison Open and Multi. Freshman Brett Schuett placed fourth in the 500-meter race, clocking in at 1:08.51.
In field events, freshman Jaiden Elliot took third in the triple jump, posting a mark of 13.30 meters, while junior Tim Reilly took fifth with a mark of 13.11 meters.
The weekend proved very successful for the women, as they took the top three spots in the 400-meter race. Junior Sam Gorman took first with a time of 59.27, freshman Megan Gasnick followed at 1:00.09 and sophomore Shannon Lambert placed third, clocking in at 1:00.11. Freshman Alli Uhl also took fifth in the race, running a 1:01.15.
In the 500-meter race, freshman Victoria Vricella took first with a time of 1:19.64 and senior Kathleen Jaeger placed second in the 800-meter race, clocking in at 2:19.19.
Gasnick, Lambert, Jaeger and Gorman took the top spot in the 4x400-meter relay race, coming in at 4:01.93. Gorman also took fourth place in the 200-meter race, stopping the clock at 26.00.
In the field, freshman Nicole Lester tied for first place in the pole vault, clearing the final mark of 3.45 meters.
Also on Saturday, Jan. 26, the teams participated in the Seamus McElligott Invitational at Haverford College. Both teams performed well, as the men placed fourth and the women took fifth, both out of eight competing teams.
For the men, freshman William Mayhew got the second spot in the 3000-meter race, clocking in at 8:56.89. In the mile, sophomore Robert Abrams picked up fifth place with a time of 4:24.
Freshman Fabian Mestanza placed third in the 800-meter race and freshman Alex Amoia was right behind in fourth, putting up times of 2:02.71 and 2:03.09 respectively.
The women also performed well with senior Natalie Cooper winning the 3000-meter race, topping 24 runners with a time of 10:10.49. Senior Erin Holzbaur also placed second in the 3000-meter race at 10:15.21.
Taking third place in the 800-meter race, Emily Prendergast put up a time of 2.27.70.
The teams return to the track on Friday, Feb. 1 to take on Rider University in a dual meet.
