Jan. 29, 2009
Complete Results
New York, N.Y. - The Fordham track & field competed at the 2009 Metropolitan Championship on Wednesday and Thursday, placing fourth in the men's competition and sixth in the women's. Both competitions featured 14 teams and were held at the 168th St. Armory.
Fordham finished with 74 points in the men's competition behind Rutgers (134), Seton Hall (117) and Manhattan (108), while the women ended with 57.5 points, behind Seton Hall (142), St. John's (125), Rutgers (106), Columbia (83), and Manhattan (78.5).
The Metropolitan Championship started on Wednesday with the Rams scoring in the men's weight throw and the women's pentathlon. Matt DiBuono captured second in the weight with a throw of 60' 5 ¼", while Chris Kozlowski was seventh overall (48' 0").
In the women's pentathlon, Jeana Fletcher was second overall with an Atlantic 10 best score of 3,410 points. Of the five events, Fletcher was first in the shot put (37' 11 ½") and the 800 meters (2:29.8), second in the high jump (5' 3 ¾"), third in the 55 meter hurdles (8.7), and fifth in the long jump (15' 10 ½").
The men's pentathlon started on Wednesday and concluded Thursday with Fordham's Vincent Servello taking third with a score of 4,230 points, while Augustus Gleason was fourth at 4,205 points.
In other field events, Catherine Groene was second in the triple jump with a season-best mark of 11.68m, just 0.2m shy of qualifying for the ECAC Championship, while Fletcher scored in the individual high jump (5th - 1.60m) and shot put (3rd - 11.56m) events. Maggie McGowan also scored in the women's field events, placing fifth in the pole vault (3.05m).
On the men's side, DiBuono and Kozlowski both scored in the shot put, as DiBuono picked up second place (14.95m) with Kozlowski taking fifth overall (14.28m). Jon Arnold scored in a pair of events, as he was third in the long jump (7.07m) and sixth in the high jump (1.89m).
Fordham saw four of their six relays score on Thursday night, led by the men's 4x800 relay, as Clifton Hilario, Ryan Serkes, Tom Finnerty, and Brian Schmidt won the event in an IC4A qualifying time of 7:49.16, which is also the best in the Atlantic 10 this season. The men's distance medley relay (Paul Szczepaniak, Brandon Ryan, Brian Horowitz, and Kevin Fitzgerald) also scored, as they took fourth in 10:21.67.
On the women's side, the distance medley relay of Kerri Gallagher, Kelly Connolly, Kathleen Reilly, and Brigid Moriarty took second overall in 12:35.93. The 4x400 relay (Christine Willeford, Elisabeth Warren, Kerry Kwalwasser, Catherine Groene) also scored for the women, placing seventh in 4:05.27.
In the individual track events, Moriarty had the top finish, taking second in the 5,000 meters in 17:59.59, while Gallagher was third in the 1,000 meters in an Atlantic 10 best time of 2:57.59. Connolly and Jana Trenk also scored for Fordham, as Connolly was seventh in the 500 meters in a season-best time of 1:17.42, while Trenk was seventh in the 5,000 meters (19:42.63).
For the men, Schmidt and Brian Riley had the top performances, as Schmidt was fourth in the 500 meters in a season-best time of 1:04.56, while Riley took fourth in the 3,000 meters (8:40.41). Finnerty, Ryan Campi, and Ryan also scored for Fordham with Finnerty placing fifth in the 1,000 meters (2:31.46) and Campi taking seventh in the mile (4:20.90). After coming up just short last week, Ryan qualified for the IC4A Championship in the 500 meters this week, finishing eighth overall in a time of 1:05.03.
As a team, Fordham will next be in action on February 6th, as they compete at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational, held at the 168th St. Armory. Individually however, senior Matt DiBuono will be competing in the weight throw at the Millrose Games on Friday, January 30th, becoming the first Ram to compete individually at the Millrose Games since 1993.
