It was a successful weekend for the College's track and field team as it participated in the Penn Relays and the Lions' Invitational. The Lions posted numerous Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) qualifying times.
The women's 4x800 relay team, comprised of senior Angela Tecco, junior Sara Best, sophomore Stephanie Herrick and freshman Jianna Spadaccini, broke the College record for the event at the Penn Relays by posting a time of 9:13.39.
In the Lions' Invitational, senior Christine Nystrom placed first in the 5,000 meters with a swift time of 19:05.30.
The 4x100 relay team also finished at the front of the pack in its event, as the unit of junior Jessica Bonelli and freshmen Kristen Tricocci, Spadaccini and Priscilla Senyah combined for an ECAC-worthy time of 49.31 seconds.
"Running at Penn Relays is always a great experience and I felt we did well as a whole," Bonelli said. "To run the 4x100 relay at our home meet and win, it felt great. I felt like it gave us a confidence boost and will carry over for our conference meet next weekend."
Senyah's day was not complete, as she also collected two more ECAC qualifying times. The speedy freshman finished the 100 meters in 12.93 seconds and took home a time of 15.82 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles.
As for the 1,500 meters, four Lions placed in the top 10. Sophomore Megan O'Leary led the way by taking fourth at an ECAC time of 4:54.30, while senior Allyson Krayl came in fifth with a time of 4:55.68. Senior Jenna Prendergast finished next in sixth, clocking in at 4:58.53, and freshman Michelle Wallace rounded out the top 10 in 10th with a time of 5:02.42.
In other women's results, junior Lauren Pfeifer achieved an ECAC qualifying height in the pole vault by taking third at a height of 3.20 meters.
On the men's side of the track, the Lions continued their winning ways, as junior Galen Johnson took home first place in the 1,500-meter run with an ECAC qualifying time of 4:02.32.
Also at the Penn Relays, the men's distance medley relay team was the top finishing NCAA Division III unit. Consisting of senior Jeff Zodda, juniors Brian Kopnicki and Pat Flinn and sophomore Chris Guerriero, the quick team took sixth with a time of 10:02.05.
Junior Brian Donatelli had double duty, as the weight-throwing junior finished fifth in the shot put at an ECAC distance of 14.78 meters and also took sixth in the hammer throw with a toss of 43.64 meters. Also gaining an ECAC mark was sophomore Al Wonesh, who finished the 400-meter hurdles in Ewing with a time of 56.59 seconds and the same event at the Penn Relays with a time of 1:00.17.
The College's 4x400 team also had success, as freshmen Steve Murray, Woodrow Prevard and Deshard Stevens and sophomore Rob McGowan captured another ECAC worthy time of 3:21.24.
The Lions are in competition again this weekend as the College will host the 2007 New Jersey Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 5.
