By Malcolm Luck
Sports Editor
After a subpar season opener at the Ross and Sharon Irwin Invite in San Diego, California on March 17, the Lions returned to the track for redemption.
At the Stockton Invitational on Saturday, March 31, both the men’s and women’s teams excelled, resulting in a second place finish for the women’s team and a fifth place finish from the men’s out of 15 competing schools.
Sophomore Kaila Carter led all Lions at the invitational with her first place finish in the 100-meter hurdle event with a time of 15.55, earning the women’s team 10 points toward its 124-point total. Junior Abigail Rizzo followed in sixth place, completing the race in 16.60.
Carter was not done contributing for her team, however, as she also tied for fifth place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.93. Earning second, third and fourth place in the same event were freshman Jada Grisson, senior Danielle Celestin and sophomore Samantha Gorman, respectively finishing in 12.58, 12.60 and 12.76.
The same trio dominated in the 200-meter event. The extra length proved to be no match for Gorman, Grisson and Celestin as they respectively took over second, third and fourth places once again with times of 25.62, 26.24 and 26.39.
In the 400-meter dash, the Lions continued their domination at the podium as sophomore Katie LaCapria and freshman Dana DeLuca dazzled for respective second and third place finishes, clocking in at 58.97 and 59.41.
Gorman, Grisson, Celestin and DeLuca left their opponents in the dust as the Lions’ 4x100 relay team. The squad crossed the finish line in 48.70, good for first place and another 10 points toward the team’s total.
Senior Jenna Ellenbacher contributed to the bundle of second place finishes with one of her own in the 400-meter hurdles, gliding in with a time of 1:05.49. Sophomore teammate Christine Woods followed up in fifth place in 1:09.15. In the field, freshman Tamika Voltaire sprung to second place with a mark of 1.58 meters in the high jump.
For the men, freshman Tana Gawe set the bar high for his teammates, coming in second place in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.10. In a slate of 30 competitors in the 100-meter dash, senior Nicholas Genoese sprinted to fourth place in 11.19, contributing five points to the team’s total in the process. In the 200-meter dash, he upped his results and captured a second place finish, completing the race in 22.47. In the 400-meter dash, junior Noah Osterhus clocked in at 49.60, good for fourth out of 23 competitors.
Freshman Alex Carideo led the charge for the College in the long distance events. In the 5000-meter run, he placed third of 30 competitors, completing the event in 15:47.70. Freshman teammate Noah Preihs finished closely behind in sixth place, finishing in 16:03.29.
Noah Osterhus, junior Nathan Osterhus, sophomore Tyler Andriopoulos and senior Daniel Lynch competed in the 4x400 meter relay, where they finished in fourth place out of 10 teams with a time of 3:34.26.
The Lions look to carry their momentum into this weekend when both squads will participate in the Colonial Relays at William & Mary College in Williamsburg, Virginia and on home turf in the TCNJ Invitational at the TCNJ Track & Field Complex. Both events will be held from Friday, April 6 to Saturday, April 7.
