By Nicole DeStefano
Staff Writer
The women’s and men’s track team competed on the night of Friday, Feb. 3, in their annual dual meet against Rider University. The Lions put forth a strong showing, but fell short to the Broncos.
Sophomore Erin Holzbaur took first place overall in the mile run with a time of 5:15.39. Junior Allison Fournier came in third with a time of 5:23.99.
The Lions shined at the 400-meter dash. Freshman Katie LaCapria placed first with a time of 59.63. Junior Jenna Ellenbacher clocked in at 59.90 to catch second place. In the 800-meter race, sophomore Kathleen Jaeger placed first with a time of 2:18.76. Meanwhile, sophomore Madeleine Tattory won the 3000-meter run in 10:53.37.
On the field, senior Tracy Prentice cleared 3.26 meters and placed first. Junior Amanda Cucarese also jumped 5.28 meters, placing second in long jump.
“I felt really good about my performance,” Prentice said. “It was my best of the season. Getting the win was an added bonus because that was the team’s goal going into the meet. The team works really hard, and it definitely showed in our ability to compete with a division one team.”
On the men’s side, the Lions swept the field in the 3000-meter race. Senior Andrew Tedeschi finished in first place, finishing in at 8:51.06. He was followed by sophomore Matt Saponara and sophomore Quinn Wasko for second and third place victories, clocking in at 8:53.93 and 8:58.14.
Junior Dale Johnson and senior Brandon Mazzarella took second and third place overall in the mile run. Johnson crossed the finish line in 4:21.28 and Mazzarella in 4:26.13. Sophomore Noah Osterhus secured a first place victory in the 800-meter race. He clocked in at 1:56.49.
In the field events, senior Chris Guglielmo cleared a height of 4.60 meters in the pole vault, finishing in second place.
“Everyone really went after their events this week,” junior Amanda Cucarese said. “We did better than expected.
“The level of support and enthusiasm amongst the team surpassed that of any other meet. I would say our goal moving forward is to keep the high energy and to continue performing on a nationally ranked level,” she added.
With the season winding down, the Lions will compete this weekend at the Valentine Invitational in Boston on Feb. 10 to Feb. 11.
