The College’s track and field team braved the bad weather this Valentine’s Day to be a part of the Lafayette/Rider Winter Games in New York City on Friday, Feb. 14.
The event included schools from all three Divisions, but sophomore Jake Lindacher said the team didn’t let that faze them.
“We know that we were competing against some Division I and Division II teams, but we do that just about every week,” runner sophomore Jake Lindacher said.
Lindacher participated in three events that night: he finished 27th in the 200-meter with a time of 23.33 seconds, fourth overall in the 60-meter dash at an ECAC qualifying 7.14 seconds and second overall in the 60-meter hurdles at 8.36 seconds, a personal best.
In order to prepare for the three events, Lindacher said he trained for each. He also relaxed himself between events and planned an eating schedule to make sure he remained energized when he stepped onto the track.
Despite ending his series of jumps with a foul, senior Scott Lisa earned third place overall in the long jump with an ECAC-qualifying length of 7.06 meters. Lisa tied with fellow Lion Zach Hubner for 10th in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.23 seconds.
Hubner teamed up with senior Dominic Tasco and sophomores Mike Larkin and Brandon Gilkes to win third place in the 4x400 with an ECAC qualifying time of 3:27.65.
The women’s team also had their fair share of success Friday. Senior Megan Flynn trounced her competition in the 3,000-meter run by more than eight seconds, coming in first place overall.
Flynn said she was not sure what was going to happen in the race because of problems she was having with her knee at the time. Her botched knee made her unable to do normal track workouts, forcing her to turn to the swimming pool and bicycle instead.
“Overall, I am happy with the race because I was not sure what to expect and it went very well,” Flynn said.
Women’s shot put saw two Lions place Friday night, with Joan Hales and Kristen VanBenschoten coming in sixth and seventh place, respectively. Hales also placed seventh in the weight throw with a distance of 13.59 meters.
“Joan has been having a very good season,” Flynn said.
In the 400-meter event, juniors Katelyn Ary and Michell Cascio placed 12th and 13th, respectively, with ECAC qualifying times.
The team found personal successes at the meet as well.
“Thirteen athletes ran, threw or jumped personal best marks,” Lindacher said, himself among the 13.
Freshman Laura Straub and junior Carly Martz were among those 13 as well, both breaking 19 minutes in the 5,000-meter race despite neither having run the 5,000-meter at a meet before.
Flynn stated that they are both close to the ECAC qualifying mark.
“It’ll be exciting to see how much time they are able to cut off as they gain more experience in the race,” Flynn said.
The 13 personal records that night represent something every sports team wants: progress.
“I’m progressing, and at this point in the season, that is all I can ask for — though there is still quite a bit of work to be done to continue the progress,” Lindacher said.
