In a pool of 34 teams, Fordham Track and Field landed in the top half in both the men’s and women’s competitions at the Colonial Relays in Williamsburg, Va. With a valiant effort over the two-day event, the men tied for 14th while the women took 15th in the weekend’s festivities.
The Rams were unable to net an event win on the opening day, but secured a handful of top five finishes and numerous notable showings in a stacked competition. Sophomore Caroline McDonagh was the top performer on the women’s side, taking fourth in the 10,000-meter invitational run. Their other top-five finish came in the field events, as graduate student Kathryn Kelly ranked fourth in the long jump. Junior Skylar Harris and freshman Leah Ruvo finished seventh and ninth respectively, making it the only event where three Rams finished in the top 10.

Other notable performances included senior Alexandra Thomas falling just outside of the top 10, taking 11th right in front of senior Taylor Mascetta and junior Marin Bogulski, who took 14th and 16th. Graduate student Casey Metzler placed 13th in the hammer throw invitational while Kelly added to her top-five finish in the long jump with a 15th place finish in the 100-meter dash.

The men had two fifth-place finishes on their side of things. The Rams took fourth place in the 10,000-meter run on both sides as junior Steven Zucca earned the highest finish for the Rams in the men’s competition. Freshman Ben Borchers added a fifth-place finish in the 1,500-meter event, with sophomore Nathan Bezuneh coming in at 15th. Other notables included senior Colin Flood with a 12th-place finish in the 1,500-meter invitational and freshman George Pomer with a 25th-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles.

The Rams got day two started with a pair of event wins, one from each competition. Both wins came in the 10,000-meter run, as seniors Nathania Tan and Ryan Fahey both took first place in their respective events, with freshman Nicholas Grabarz posting a fifth place finish as well.
Fordham posted a number of top ten finishes as well. Graduate student Zalen Nelson ranked fifth in the men’s 800-meter invitational, while graduate student Helen Connolly and senior Mary Kathryn Underwood took seventh and eighth in the women’s invitational. In the field events, junior Justin Rhee finished fourth in the men’s triple jump with Ruvo taking eighth in the women’s triple jump. Graduate student Jana Rokitta tied for second in the high jump invitational, while Ruvo added one last top five finish for her weekend, tying for second in the regular high jump event.

In the relays, Nelson joined senior Erik Brown and freshmen Matthew Nurse and Yariv Simhony for a fourth place finish in the 4×400 relay. The distance medley unit of Borchers, Flood, Bezuneh and sophomore Isaiah James also earned a top five finish, taking fifth. On the women’s side, Mascetta, Thomas, Bogulski and sophomore Caitrina Barton were ninth in the 4×1500.

The Rams will stay local this upcoming weekend, participating in the Metropolitan Championship at Icahn Stadium on Saturday.
Fordham took third place in both men’s and women’s during the indoor Metropolitan Championship earlier this winter, and they’ll look to post another impressive outing in the spring.