The Fordham Men’s and Women’s Track and Field squads split up this weekend to deliver impressive personal performances for the Rams. The men’s team traveled to Staten Island for the Great Dane Invitational, while the women’s team traveled a little farther to Boston for the John Thomas Terrier Classic. Rounding out the weekend, the women’s 4×400 relay team got the chance to compete in the Millrose Games, even amidst all the snowy weather.

The men’s team put up impressive numbers in the 800m run. Senior Zalen Nelson took home first, recording a career-best time of 1:50.99. Other racers for the Rams included senior Jeremiah LaDuca and junior Erik Brown, who placed fifth (1:54.64) and 28th (1:58.49), respectively.

Junior Samuel Wilcox also pulled out a fifth-place finish, this time in the 1000m, coming in at a time of 2:31.99. Additionally, Wilcox teamed up with Nelson, La Duca and Brown, competing in the 4×400 relay, in which the quartet finished eighth with a time of 3:24.31.

Adding two more fifth-place finishes, sophomore Steve Zucca and senior Brandon Hall also brought in a pair of season-best times, with Zucca recording a time of 15:05.46 in the 5000m and Hall recording a time of 8:24.10 in the 3000 m.

Two Rams recorded season-best distances in both weight throw and high jump in the field. Senior Alec Wargo recorded his season-best performance in the weight throw, throwing a distance of 14.57m. Meanwhile, graduate student Andrew Ramsammy tied a season-best height in the high jump at 1.90m. Lastly, although he didn’t record a season-best performance, sophomore Justin Rhee impressively finished 15th in the triple jump event, with a mark of 12.84m.

Wrapping it up on the men’s side, freshman Rodolfo Sanchez took home eighth in the mile run with a season-best time of 4:14.67, and freshman teammate Nathan Bezuneh took home 16th with a mark of 4:20.35. 

For the Women’s Track and Field, graduate student Kathryn Kelly racked up three top-five finishes for the Rams this past weekend. In the 60m dash, Kelly and junior Kyla Hill both qualified to finish fourth at f 7.67 seconds – a season-best time – and fifth at 7.77 seconds, respectively. Kelly also recorded fifth in the 200m, recording a season-best time of 24.75 seconds and took home fourth in the long jump event with a mark of 5.48m. 

Other season-best performances came across multiple events. Senior Dominique Valentine recorded hers in the 400m with a time of 58.32. Junior Taylor Mascetta finished 19th in the 1000-meter event, recording a time of 2:58.28. The 800m run allowed senior Helen Connolly to post her season-best time of 2:14.99, and lastly, graduate student Germaine Harbaugh secured her season-best time of 10:23.34 in the 3000m.

The women’s team also saw placements from junior Nicoleta Papavasilakis and sophomore Marin Bogulski in the 1000m event finishing 35th and 37th, respectively. Mascetta, Papavasilakis, Bogulski and senior Jade Dyer-Kennedy joined efforts for the 4×400, placing 19th overall. Senior Jilli Jones and junior Mary Kathryn Underwood finished 28th and 34th respectively in the 800m. In contrast, senior Casey Metzler ranked 17th in the weight throw event for the field side, and Dyer-Kennedy placed 14th in her field event, the triple jump.

Rounding out the weekend, the women’s 4×400 relay team consisting of Hill, Kelly, Valentine and junior Ruby Avila traveled to the Armory Track and Field Center to compete in the Millrose Games. They finished second in the event, bringing home another season-best time to the long list this weekend. 

Both the men’s and women’s teams now have their sights set on the Metropolitan Championship in Staten Island on Feb. 4th, where they hope to rack up not only individual victories, but a team victory.