The College tested itself this weekend against several Division I and Division III teams at the Sam Howell Invitational at Princeton University. 
Sprinting to the top Division III time at the meet, senior Christopher Medina came in at a blazing 11.18 seconds in the 100-meter dash. Junior teammate Kyle Magliaro was not far behind at 11.36.
Junior Steven D’Aiutolo continued to stampede through the competition as he finished at 50.29 in the 400-meters and was sixth in the long jump with a distance of 21’ 2.5”.
There were also a few ECAC qualifiers, starting with senior Shaun McGeever. McGeever, who got a mark of 3:58.43 in the 1500-meters. Junior Andy Gallagher qualified in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:44.66.
In the field, both senior Colin Gold and junior Julio Alorro were able to clear 14’ 3.25” in the pole vault, while sophomore Scott Lisa was eighth in the high jump with a jump of 6’ 2.25”.
For the women, there were ECAC qualifiers and top 10 finishes. Junior Cathy Goncalves and sophomore Julie Jablonski both qualified in the 5000-meter event with times of 17:45.15 and 18:19.49 respectively. Goncalves placed third out of Division III runners.
Leading the top 10 finishes was senior Katie Nestor, who was sixth in the 1500-meters with a time of 4:46.73. Sophomore Emily Kulcyk was the top Division III runner to cross the line in the 400-meters with a time of 1:40.90. Senior Alyssa Bannon and sophomore Anginelle Alabanza finished seventh and 10th respectively in the 3000-meters with times of 10:27.90 and 10:33.63.
“We are lucky to attend meets with such great competition because it gives us something to go after, and it also allows us to prove what a great program we have,” said sophomore Emily Skalko. “Having such good competition pushes us to break our own personal bests.”
The Lions had some impressive performances in the field as well. Skalko was seventh in the high jump at 4’ 11.5” Sophomore Erica Roberts took ninth in the long jump with a leap of 33’ 6.5”. Senior Brianna Brennan hurled the javelin a remarkable 126’ 11”. That throw was third in the meet and among the top 25 of all throws by Division III throwers this season. Junior Julianne Grandal was ninth with a mark of 113’ 8”. Finally, sophomore Jackie Chester rounded out the meet with an eighth place in the pole vault, clearing 10’ 11.75”.
“It is very important to obtain contributions from every area because it shows how well rounded our team is,” Skalko explained. “It is impossible to win a team championship without contributions from every area because every point counts. It gives us even more of a reason to go above and beyond to support each other.”
The Lions return to action Saturday when they host the New Jersey Invitational at the College.
