Results
Charlottesville, Va. - (March 24, 2012) - The Fordham track & field team fought through some poor weather conditions at the UVa Team Swashbuckle, hosted by the University of Virginia in Charlottesville on Saturday. By day's end, the Fordham women placed fifth, while the men's team was eighth.
Highlighting the day was a pair of men's runners qualifying for the IC4A Championship. Senior Kevin Fitzgerald and junior Julian Saad both qualified in the 1,500 meters, finishing fifth and sixth, respectively in 3:48.87 and 3:48.89. Ryan Polo also scored in the 1,500 meters, but just missed an IC4A qualifier as he placed seventh in 3:51.39.
The Fordham men scored in six other events on the day. Brian Riley led a trio of scorers in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, as he took second in 9:29.61, while Rich Grandelli (9:34.88) and Jonathan Annelli (9:37.76) were fifth and sixth respectively.
In the 800 meters, John Cosgrove took third overall in 1:52.67, while Michael Rossi was eighth in 1:54.52. The 400 meter hurdles event saw two Rams score as Sean Collins (54.94) and Sean Atkinson (55.21) were fifth and sixth overall, as did the men's 5,000 meter run, where Sam Stuart was seventh (15:01.42) and Kevin Harvey was eighth (15:06.33).
In relay action, Fordham was fifth in the 4x400 relay in 3:20.72, while the men's 4x100 relay was eighth in 43.56 seconds.
On the women's side, Fordham scored in ten events, led by three second place finishes. Blair Hassell was second in the javelin throw with a mark of 135' 11", with Titi Fagade taking second in the 800 meters in 2:14.94. Fagade was joined by Kelly Connolly as a scorer in the 800 meters, as Connolly was fifth in 2:15.83.
The final second place finisher was Kristen Stuart in the 400 meter hurdles in 1:03.88. Melissa Higgins also scored in the event, taking fourth in 1:04.60.
Elisabeth Warren was a dual scorer for Fordham, placing fourth in the long jump with a mark of 17' 6 ¾" and sixth in the 400 meter dash in 58.90 seconds.
Other individual scorers including Briana Tevnan in the 3,000 meter steeplechase (4th - 11:47.60), Averie Sheppard in the 100 meter hurdles (7th - 15.71), and Courtnay Newman in the high jump (6th - 5' 2 ½").
In the relays, Fordham finished fourth in both the 4x400 (3:54.85) and 4x100 (49.42) relay events.
The Fordham track & field team will next be in action on Friday, March 30th, when the team begins competition at the Raleigh Relays, hosted by N.C. State in Raleigh, North Carolina.
