Results
The Fordham track & field team began its championship season run on Friday at the 2014 Metropolitan Indoor Championship, held at the Armory Track & Field Center in New York. The Rams had a great day as Fordham came home with nine event winners and two top-5 team finishes.
In the women's competition, Fordham placed third out of 15 teams with 92 points, behind only Rutgers (163) and St. John's (104).
The Rams had six event wins on Friday, which began in the 5,000 meter run as Anisa Arsenault posted a winning time of 17:28.90, which was also good for an ECAC qualifying mark. Ariana Bottalico also scored in the event, taking fifth overall (18:24.90).
Fordham then came up with back-to-back event wins, as Titi Fagade recorded a career-best time of 2:10.26, which also qualified her for the ECAC Championship, to win the 800 meter run. Melissa Higgins then followed by winning the 1,000 meter run in a career-best time of 2:59.89.
The Rams then ended the night with three straight event wins in the 3,000 meter run, the distance medley relay, and the 4x800 relay. In the 3,000 meters, Christina Vivinetto took home the top spot with a career-best time of 10:22.30, while Sarah Glockenmeier (10:30.07) and Brianne Roche (10:37.76) also scored in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Later in the relay, the distance medley group of Higgins, Averie Sheppard, Diane Bain, and Arsenault won its race in 12:14.93, while the 4x800 relay of Danielle Rowe, Mara Lieberman, Fagade, and Kristen Stuart captured that title in a season-best time of 9:15.93, bettering the team's ECAC qualifying time.
Fordham also scored in the 500 meter and mile runs. In the 500, Stuart placed second in 1:15.02, while Rowe was fourth in a career-best time of 1:16.58. The mile run saw Lieberman take third overall in a season-best time of 5:09.51.
On the men's side, Fordham was fourth out of 14 teams with 75 points, behind only Southern Connecticut State (133), Rutgers (123), and Manhattan (119).
Fordham had three event winners in the championship, which began with
Jonathan Annelli in the 5,000 meter run, as he clocked in with a career-best time of 14:53.44. Right behind Annelli was teammate
Mike Turi, who took second in 14:57.35, which was his career-best time.
The next winner for Fordham was
Lester Taylor, as he exploded in the 800 meter run to post a winning time of 1:54.58, which was his best as a Ram.
The Rams' final first place finish was
Sam Houston in the heptathlon, as he scored 4,859 points. He took the top spot in four events, including the 1,000 meter run (2:48.19), the high jump (6' 4 ¾"), the long jump (22' 4 ¼"), and the shot put (38' 0").
Fordham also scored in six other events, which included the 500 meters, the 1,000 meters, the 3,000 meters, the distance medley relay, the 4x800 relay, and the shot put.
The 500 meters saw
Sean Collins earn fifth place with a time of 1:05.50, while
Ryan Polo (2:29.40) and
Brian Walter (2:31.07) finished second and fifth respectively in the 1,000 meter run.
The 3,000 meter run had
Patrick Burke and
Kevin Harvey place fourth and fifth respectively, as each posted their career-best time in the event in 8:45.05 and 8:45.23, while
Austin Ruiz took seventh in the shot put with a distance of 47' 5 ¼".
In the relays, the men's 4x800 relay of Taylor, Walter, Polo, and
Daniel Green took fourth place in 7:54.61, while the distance medley group of Annelli, Collins,
Kyle Clonan, and
Quincy O'Connor placed fourth in an IC4A qualifying time of 10:18.56.
The Fordham track & field team will next be in action on February 7-8 at the Valentine's Day Classic, hosted by Boston University.
