Results
New York, N.Y. - (Jan. 11, 2013) - A busy weekend for the Fordham track & field team got underway on Friday at the NYC Gotham Cup, held at the Armory Track & Field Center in New York. The Rams kicked off competition with three ECAC/IC4A qualifying marks, eight top five finishes, and one school record being matched.
The competition opened with graduate student Nicole Ragucci tying her own school record in the pole vault, clearing 10' 6", which was good for a tie for seventh place at the meet. She also posted a 12th place finish in the 400 meter dash, clocking in at 58.63 seconds.
Ragucci's performance was followed by three ECAC/IC4A qualifying marks, led by junior David Fajoyomi, who won the high jump competition by clearing 6' 11" to qualify for the IC4A Championship.
Sean Atkinson joined Fajoyomi later in the evening, as he finished fifth in the 400 meter dash in a qualifying time of 48.81 seconds. Atkinson has now qualified for the IC4A's in both the 400- and 500-meter events. The final qualifier came on the women's side, as the Rams placed fifth in the 4x400 relay in an ECAC qualifying time of 3:51.47.
Fordham also earned a pair of second place finishes on the women's side, as senior Courtnay Newman took second in the high jump, clearing a season-best height of 5' 5", while the 4x800 relay took second place in a season-best time of 9:52.14. Titi Fagade, who was a part of the ECAC qualifying relay team, also had a fifth place finish in the 400 meter dash in a season-best time of 57.30 seconds.
On the men's side, the Rams had two other top five finishes besides Atkinson and Fajoyomi. Senior John Cosgrove posted a season-best time of 1:55.71 to take fourth in the 800 meter run, while junior Ryan Polo was fifth in the mile run in 4:21.27.
Other top performers were Sam Houston, who was seventh in the long jump (22' 1"), Lester Taylor, who was seventh in the 1,000 meter run (2:31.21), Michael Rossi, who was sixth in the 800 meters (1:56.16), and Mara Lieberman, who was eighth in the women's mile run (5:07.67).
The Rams will have a quick turnaround, as Fordham will travel to New Haven, Connecticut on Saturday, January 12th for the Yale Invitational.
