By George Tatoris
Staff Writer
The outdoor track team took on some of their stiffest competition yet this season in the Colonial Relays this weekend, hosted at William & Mary College in Virginia. The Lions held their own against a number of Division I schools in the event.
The men’s team fared well in the middle and long distance events, with sophomore Andrew Tedeschi finishing fourth with a time of 15:20.28 in the 5000-meter event, besting a number of runners from Division I schools.
Rounding out the distance runners was junior Scott Savage placing 18th in the 3000-steeplechase with a time of 9:41.28 and junior Tyler Grimm who finished 21st in the 10,000-meter event with a time of 32:55.29.
The team also found success in the hurdles. In the 400-meter hurdles, junior Laron Day took 26th with a time of 56.80. Just behind him was fellow junior Mike Larkin, who finished 30th with a time of 57.07.
Junior sprinter Jake Lindacher finished 28th in two events — the 100-meter dash, which he finished with a time of 11.23 and the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.36. Sophomore Zach Hubner was just behind Lindacher in the 100-meter dash, finishing 35th with a time of 11.33.
In the field events, freshman Andrew McNutt finished 13th in the triple jump with his longest distance being 13.20 meters.
The women’s team also saw plenty of successes on the track. Senior Katelyn Ary, who has been named NJAC Athlete of the Week in women’s outdoor track and field, finished sixth in the 400-meter dash posting a time of 57.42. The effort earned the College four points.
Fellow senior Michelle Cascio also ran to an impressive finish in the 400-meter, clocking in 11th with a time of 57.81.
In the 5,000-meter event senior Jillian Manzo placed eighth with a finishing time of 18:46.10.
In the 400-meter hurdles, Ary placed 16th out of 65 runners finishing with a time of 1:04.17. She ran that race with freshman Cristina Nardini, who clocked in 1:08.50, to place 50th.
Cascio also ran in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.09, placing her in 17th overall. Senior Joy Spriggs also ran the 200-meter dash and placed 60th with a time of 26.37.
Ary, Cascio and Spriggs were joined by freshman Amanda Cucarese in the 4x400 meter relay, which saw the quartet finish 10th with a time of 3:55.43. Ary, Cascio and Spriggs were a part of the 4x400 indoor relay team that earned All-American honors two weeks ago at the NCAA Championships.
Seniors Liz Johnson and Megan Stack, sophomore Laura Straub and freshman Allison Fournier competed in the 4x1,500 relay where the Lions also took 10th. The ensemble posted a total time of 20:27.87.
On Saturday April 11, the Lions will return to their Jersey turf to compete in The College of New Jersey Tri Meet.
