By Alexandria Sedlak

On Saturday, Feb. 27, the Fordham track and field teams competed in the Last Chance Invitational. This meet, being one week before the ECAC/IC4A Championships, was the final chance for runners to qualify for the regionals in their races. There were 14 runners representing Fordham, two of which qualified for the ECAC/IC4A, bringing Fordham’s total up to 17 qualifying times for the season.

The men’s side saw some great performances. Sophomore Brian Cook had an outstanding run in the 1,000m, his first time competing in it this year, with a 2:27.58 finish. He took first place and qualified for the IC4A by a whole second. Freshman Sean Phillips also qualified for the IC4A in the mile with a time of 4:12.65. Both runners set personal bests in their respective races.

Freshman Jared Benn ran in the 400m and finished with a time of 49.90, missing out on a qualifying time by just seven-tenths of a second. Benn already has 3 IC4A times under his belt this season. In the 800m race, four runners represented Fordham, and all finished in the top 30. Sophomore Louis Santelli came in 14th with a time of 1:56.14, sophomore Fritz Heinrich came in 16th with a time of 1:56.37, junior Ryan McGann came in 18th with a time of 1:57.40 and sophomore Michael Campbell came in 28th with a time of 1:59.24.

The women’s side saw no qualifying times in this meet, but the Rams set many new personal records.  Sophomore Merissa Wright competed in the 400m run and came in fourth place with a time of 57.39, which was .35 seconds shy of the ECAC qualifying time. The time did give her a new personal record. Senior Danielle Rowe followed with a time of 57.73, putting her in fifth place.  Freshman Morgan Menzzasalma, also setting a new personal record, finished in ninth place with a time of 59.11.

Junior Shanna Heaney finished eighth in the mile with a time of 5:01.15.  Although she missed the ECAC qualifying time by two seconds, she set a new personal record by a whole 11 seconds. Heaney already had six different events for which she is ECAC-qualified. Freshman Kate McCormack competed in the mile as well, with her time of 5:07.33 putting her in 10th place and giving her a new personal best time.

The season has proven successful for Fordham so far, as the team has achieved 17 ECAC and IC4A qualifying times: 10 for the women and seven for the men.

Next weekend, beginning on March 5, the Fordham track and field teams will be competing in the ECAC and IC4A Championships, also called the regional championships.  This will be taking place at Boston University’s Track and Tennis Center.