The men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams opened the new season at the New York Gotham Cup on Friday, Jan. 15.
Both teams collected numerous qualifying finishing times for the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) and the East Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC).
Two school records were also broken by athletes on the women’s team. Senior Jianna Spadaccini broke her own school record in the 500-meter race, finishing in sixth place with a time of 1:15.41. Senior Priscilla Senyah ran a time of 8.92 in the 60-meter hurdles, breaking her previous record of 8.94 seconds which she set back in December. Spadaccini’s time qualified her for the ECAC championship, whereas Senyah met the NCAA provisional cut with her time in the hurdles.
The men’s team was not far behind with three athletes running ECAC qualifying times in two different events. Juniors Jule Brooks and Kyle Gilroy finished with strong times of 49.27 and 50.19 in the 400- meter race. Senior DeShard Stevens qualified for the ECAC championship in the 500- meter race with a time of 1:05.45, nabbing him 10th place.
Other athletes outshined the other schools in both track and field events at the meet, as well. Freshman Rachel Morris was the top Division III finisher in the 3,000-meter race, running a time of 10:43.23 to give her 11th place. Three runners on the men’s team also stood out amongst the athletes in the mile. Sophomore Ian Boyle placed 9th in the seeded mile with a time of 4:25.71. In the unseeded mile, it was junior Kyle Roos and freshman Andy Gallagher who took the 8th and 9th places, with finishing times of 4:29.24 and 4:29.50.
Both the women’s and men’s teams excelled in field events, as well, with several athletes placing in the top-10 of their event. Sophomore Colin Gold cleared a height of four meters for second place in the unseeded pole vault.
Senior Martin Brown and junior Alexander Necovski placed 7th and 8th in the shot put for the men’s team with throws of 13.37 and 12.90 meters.
The men’s and women’s track and field team will continue the season on Jan. 23 at the Princeton Relays.
