By RYAN SCANLON

STAFF WRITER

With April just around the corner, the Fordham men’s and women’s track teams were on the road this past weekend to compete in two high powered meets.

Distance runners senior Nick Synan and junior Anisa Arsenault were given the challenge of the 10,000m run at the Raleigh Relays in North Carolina, hosted by North Carolina State.

Both runners had races to remember. Arsenault placed seventh overall in a field of 40 with a time of 35:05, qualifying her for the ECAC championships. Her time was also good enough to make her the second fastest woman in Fordham history in this event, trailing only Lauren Gubzica’s record of 33:34.

Synan had a similar result in his 10,000m race. Shortly after the race began, however, Synan’s racing shoe slipped off. He continued to race and, with determination, fared unbelievably well. The senior placed 21st in a very competitive field, hitting a remarkable time of 30:53 to qualify him for the IC4A championships in this event. Perhaps he should race with only one shoe more often.

A larger portion of athletes were sent off to Palo Alto, Calif. to compete in the Stanford Invitational. Fordham’s finest shined bright at Stanford, led by graduate student Kevin Fitzgerald who ran 3:50.31 in the 1,500m run to finish 15th.  The 1,500m run has proven to be his strength over the years and this race’s performance qualified him for the IC4A championships.

Fellow middle distance runners Ryan Polo and John Cosgrove got work in the form of the 800m run. The junior Polo took 15th in a solid 1:52.71 and the senior Cosgrove was right behind him in 16th in 1:54.04. Senior Sean Atkinson took ninth for his efforts in the 400m hurdles, an event not available to him during the indoor season, and hit a time of 54.06. Sophomore Kristen Stuart took advantage of the intermediate hurdles as well and hit 62.32 to place 11th overall.

Junior Titi Fagade rounded out the women’s team with a sixth place finish in the 800-m run in a time of 2:11.02.