By Alexandria Sedlak
This past weekend, the Fordham track and field teams competed in the Colonial Relays at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The two day event featured both individual races and relays. Fordham had some great performances and finishes over the two days, consisting of several outstanding runs and an IC4A qualifying time.
The Rams started with the 3000m race, with sophomore Nik O’Brien placing fourth in a time of 8:38.46, and junior Jake Duckworth placing sixth in a time of 8:40.15.
The women also competed in the 3000m race, with senior Rachel Picard placing 32nd with a 10:45.31 time and freshman Laurel Fisher placing 33rd with a time of 10:46.28. Freshman Kate McCormack was another top finisher, coming in fourth in the 1500m race with a time of 4:43.14. Sophomore Brynna Harum also competed in this race, coming in 23rd with a time of 4:50.98. Sophomore Fritz Heinrich came in 16th in the 1500m with a finishing time of 4:01.24.
Another important race for the Rams was the 800m. For the women, sophomore Merissa Wright placed fourth in the university run with a time of 2:15.47, while junior Shanna Heaney came in 26th with a time of 2:15.78 in the seeded run.
On the men’s side, sophomore Louis Santelli finished in first with an IC4A qualifying time of 1:53.77, while sophomore Michael Campbell placed 16th in a time of 1:56.63.
There were many other great races throughout the day from both the men and women. For the men, junior Nicholas Regan placed 12th in the javelin with a throw of 175-03. Graduate student Jonathan Annelli finished 13th in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 9:22.31, while sophomore Brian Cook finished in 16th place with a time of 9:28.92. The last Ram to come in the top 20 in an event was sophomore Thomas Slattery, who competed in the 5000m race, coming in 15th with a time of 14:40.09.
On the women’s side there were a few top 30 finishes besides those mentioned. Graduate student Brianna Tevnan placed 10th in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 11:01.88. Freshman Morgan Menzzasalma competed in the 400m hurdles, in which she placed 20th with a time of 1:04.61. She also raced in the 100m hurdles, finishing in 69th with a time of 16.79 seconds.
Day two of the event consisted mostly of relays and field events.
Sophomore Ryan Riviere placed sixth in the pole vault, with his best vault being 13’07.25.”
There were also eleven Fordham relays that competed on this day. The top relay for the women was the 4x800m, which finished 10th in a time of 9:15.98, qualifying them for the ECAC Championships. The best relay for the men was the distance medley relay placing eighth with a 10:13.57 finishing time.
The Rams showed their hard work and skills in their performances in Virginia this past weekend. They continue to practice with great effort and determination, and this effort is displayed through their constant success during meets.
Their next meet will take place on Friday and Saturday, April 8 and 9, at Rutgers University. They will be competing in the Metropolitan Championships.
