By Eddie Young
Sports Editor
The College’s track and field team put together an impressive weekend from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2., competing in three different events in the area.
The weekend was highlighted by freshman Maxin Rychkov’s performances at the Scarlet Knight Open on Jan. 31 at The Armory in New York City. He put on a clinic in the 200-meter dash, coming in first with a time of 21.63 seconds, setting a new school record for the event.
Rychkov also helped the College take first place in the 4x200-meter relay. He was joined by sophomore Jack Attali, fifth-year Ray Schmitt and freshman Anthony Senatore in the event. The four Lions came together to run the relay in a time of 1:27.97, beating second place Vermont by just over a second. This time set another school record, giving Rychkov his second of the night.
“It feels great knowing that the hard work I’ve been putting in has been paying off,” Rychkov, a mathematics major, said about his record-breaking performances. “But I also couldn’t have done it without my team by my side, supporting me and giving a great atmosphere at practice and at competitions.”
Schmitt and Rychkov also put together respectable efforts in the 60-meter dash, coming in third and fourth place respectively. Schmitt ran the event in 6.83 seconds, with Rychkov just behind him at the 6.85 second mark.
At The Armory, the College’s women’s team was led by their performance in the 4x200-meter relay. Sophomore Mackenzie Burke, senior Erin Picklo, sophomore Rukky Daranijo and junior Cameron Ruffini teamed up to earn a second place finish in the event. They finished in 1:45.37, just one-hundredth of a second behind the first place finisher, Delaware State.
At the Seamus McElligott Invitational in Haverford, Pennsylvania, the College put together a great showing in the field. Sophomore Tyler DeMarco, freshman Matthew Corrigan and freshman Zach Kosinski swept the podium in the pole vault, coming in first, second and third places respectively. DeMarco reached a height of 4.10 meters, Corrigan reached 3.80 meters and Kosinski reached 3.65 meters.
The College also did very well in the men’s weight throw, taking four of the top five spots. Senior Steve Daramola came in first with a throw of 15.98 meters, senior George Agyei-Sam came in second with 15.53 meters, junior Jayden Wright came in fourth with 13.99 meters and senior Brandon Kuse came in fifth with 13.59 meters.
Daramola and Wright also helped the College take second through fourth places in the shot put. Daramola came in second with a throw at 14.95 meters, sophomore Christian Farhat earned third with 14.71 meters and Wright got fourth with 14.08 meters.
Seniors Jessica Reilly and Kerri McCarthy took first and second place in the women’s weight throw. Reilly won with a throw of 14.85 meters, just outdoing McCarthy’s second place throw of 14.75 meters.
Other performances from this invitational include freshman Anthony Thomas’ second place finish in the men’s 800-meter dash, junior Evan Melito’s second place finish in the men’s 3000-meter race and junior Liz Claros’ third place finish in the women’s 5000-meter race.
The final stop on the College’s busy weekend itinerary was the Ithaca College Bomber Invitational, which wrapped up on Feb. 2.
Junior Jayvee Dumas was the lone male athlete sent here as he took fifth place in the heptathlon. His best event in the competition was the pole vault, where he took first with a height of 4.05 meters.
Senior Eliza Bruncaj finished sixth in the pentathlon. Her top event in this competition was the 800-meter dash, which she won with a time of 2:29.88.
The College will now look ahead to next weekend, as they will travel to Utica University in upstate New York to compete in the Blue and Orange Invitational on Feb. 8.
