Track and Field Looks to Build Off Strong Indoor Season

February 24, 2016

By Alexandria Sedlak

The track and field team is ready to go as they head outside for spring. Courtesy of Fordham Athletics

As spring weather draws closer, Fordham Track and Field prepares for its outdoor season. With a few remaining indoor meets and practices, they hope to work as a team to get ready for the season ahead. The spring season is always full of some riveting races, including personal bests and ECAC/IC4A qualifiers. If you look at the last spring season you can see what the Rams have to look forward to, and perhaps, what they will be competing against in the future.

The two-day Fred Hardy Invitational at the University of Richmond was the first meet of the season last spring. In the 5,000m run, then-junior Quincy O’Connor claimed first place with a time of 14:52.67. Senior Brianna Tevnan came in second place overall in the 5,000m with a time of 17:39.53. Their next meet was the Colonial Relays hosted by the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The highlight of this meet was Tevnan’s fourth place finish in the 3,000m steeplechase, which she finished with a new personal best and school record time of 10:54.49. Continuing their meets in Virginia, the next weekend was the Mason Spring Invitational in Fairfax. The sole top 10 finish for the Rams was sophomore Nicholas Regan, who came in eighth in the javelin throw with a distance of 181’5”.

The Wolfie Invitational at Stony Brook University was a successful meet for the Rams. For the women, junior Danielle Rowe won the 400m dash in 56.58 seconds and senior Mara Lieberman won the 800m run in a time of 2:14.11, while sophomore Shanna Heaney took second in 2:14.49. For the men, sophomore Nik O’Brien won the 3,000m run in 8:52.29, while freshman Brian Cook took first place in the 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 9:14.43, which qualified him for the IC4A.

At the Penn Relays, the 4x800m relay team consisting of seniors Mara Lieberman, Kristen Stuart and Melissa Higgins and junior Danielle Rowe, took 11th place overall with a time of 8:56.39, which also qualified the relay team for the ECAC. At the 2015 Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track and Field Championship at George Mason Stadium, sophomore Nicholas Regan placed second in the javelin throw with a distance of 185’5”, earning him Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors. Stuart finished fifth in the 400m hurdles with an ECAC qualifying time of 1:01.64. Tevnan placed third in the 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 10:39.55, which is a new personal record, a school record and an ECAC qualifying time. In the 800m finals, senior Lester Taylor came in second with a time of 1:52.07, which earned him Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors. The women’s 4x800m relay team finished in third place with a time of 8:49.91, less than a second away from first place.

The Swarthmore Final Qualifier in Pennsylvania was the team’s last chance to qualify for the ECAC/IC4A the next weekend. Two Rams accomplished this goal. Taylor finished the 800m run in second place with a season best time of 1:49.95, which qualified him for IC4A. Cook, though already qualified for the IC4A, achieved an even better qualifying time, finishing the 3,000m steeplechase in 9:12.44 and fifth place. Only Tevnan and Cook took part in the 2015 ECAC/IC4A Outdoor Track and Field Championship at Princeton University. Tevnan finished 17th overall in the women’s steeplechase, while Cook finished 13th overall in the men’s steeplechase.

The biggest highlight of the season came with freshman Thomas Slattery’s qualification for the 2015 USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championship that took place at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon in June. This accomplishment made Slattery the first Ram to compete at the Junior Nationals since 2011.

The Fordham Rams had a successful season last spring, and they continue to practice to try and make each season better than the last. Constant training in the year-long sport only helps them prepare that much more for the spring season. With only a couple more meets left in the indoor season, the team is looking forward to beginning their outdoor season. “I think everyone is in excellent shape for the spring season,” comments sophomore Merissa Wright. “It’s nice to finally see the work we’ve put in since last June pay off. It is just the beginning and I am excited to see what is to come. We have ECACs in two weeks and that’s when we pull out some of our best times, then it is straight on to outdoor! Watch out for the school records, because we intend to break them.”