Track & Field Takes Third at Metropolitan Championships

Results
 
Staten Island, N.Y. – (February 3, 2023) – The Fordham track & field team started a busy weekend of action on Friday with the teams' first championship of the season, the 2023 Metropolitan Indoor Track & Field Championship, held at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Staten Island.
 
The Rams had an excellent day, finishing third in both team competitions.  The Fordham women scored 116 points to end up third out of 14 teams, behind only St. John's (155) and Columbia (141), while the men's team scored 112 points to finish third out of 12 teams, just behind Manhattan (117) and Rowan (116).
 
Fordham ended the day with five event wins, four of which came in the relay events.  The women's distance medley relay of Marin Bogulski, Abigail Llach, Taylor Mascetta, and Alexandra Thomas posted the first win in a time of 12:36.16, quickly followed by the men's distance relay team of Daniel Asher, Isaiah James, Justin Lombardi, and Steven Zucca winning in 10:20.48.
 
It was then a sweep in the 4x800 relay events.  Molly Mulvaney, Mary Kathryn Underwood, Jilli Jones, and Helen Connolly won the women's event in 9:24.83, while Ben Borchers, Yariv Simhony, Darren Croke, and Zalen Nelson took first in 7:49.98.
 
Relay action wrapped up with the 4x400 relays, where Ruby Avila, Sophia Crucs, Michele Daye, and Dillyn Green finished sixth overall on the women's side in 4:11.34 with Kevin Callaghan, Christopher Martinez, Matthew Nurse, and Erik Brown placing second in the men's event in 3:19.44.
 
The remaining event win for Fordham came from Jana Rokitta, who took first in the women's high jump, clearing a season-best height of 5' 9".  She was one of five Rams to score in the event, joining Allison Burton (3^rd – 5' 1"), Leia Ruvo (T4th – 4' 11"), Alexandra Manetovic (T4th – 4' 11"), and Zoe Arakelian (7^th – 4' 11").

 
Fordham scored in five other field events, beginning with Justin Rhee (22' 1 ¼") and Eric Galante (22' ½") taking fourth and fifth, respectively, in the men's long jump, while Skylar Harris finished fourth in the women's event at 17' 5".  Michael Croke then grabbed fourth in the men's pole vault, clearing 14' 1 ¼", with Martinez taking fourth in the men's triple jump with a mark of 41' 3 ¼".  Tiffany Hanna was the final scorer, finishing fifth in the women's weight throw with a distance of 54' 4".
 
Back on the track, the Rams' scoring began in the 5,000-meter run, where Caroline McDonagh (18:37.14) and Madeleine Ryan (18:37.60) placed second and third, respectively, in the women's event, while Ryan Fahey scored seventh in the men's event in 15:53.97.
 
Kyla Hill then took center stage, breaking her week old school record in the 60-meter dash, placing second overall in 7.57 seconds.  She later scored in the 200-meter dash as well, finishing second in 24.50 seconds, while teammate Dillyn Green scored eighth in 25.75 seconds.  In the men's 200 meters, Matthew Nurse scored eighth in 22.38 seconds.
 
Fordham followed with five scorers in the mile run, starting with Bogulski taking third in the women's event in 5:08.07 with Thomas in eighth at 5:16.76.  On the men's side, Zucca and Rodolfo Sanchez were second (4:14.48) and third (4:14.64), respectively, with D. Croke in sixth (4:22.95).
 
The 500-meter run was the next event Fordham scored in, beginning with Mulvaney finishing fifth in the women's event in 1:19.00, while Callaghan (1:05.18), Brown (1:05.39), and Anderson Baker (1:12.53) earned third, fourth, and eighth, respectively.
 
In the 800 meters, it was Underwood scoring for Fordham in the women's event, clocking in at 2:17.72 for fourth place.  On the men's side, Nelson was second overall in 1:54.17, followed by Simhony in fifth (1:58.02) and Eric Jacobson in eighth (2:00.45).
 
Fordham wrapped up its scoring in the 1,000- and 3,000-meter events.  Connolly was third in the women's 1,000 meters in 2:57.99 with Jones taking sixth in 3:04.89.  The men's side had four Rams score with Asher in third (2:30.06), Sanchez in fourth (2:30.75), Borchers in seventh (2:33.34), and Lombardi in eighth (2:33.77).  Finally, it was Colin Flood scoring third in the men's 3,000-meter run in 8:32.97.
 
The Rams will have a quick turnaround for their next showing, as member of the team will be at the Scarlet Knights Open on Saturday, February 4^th, held at the Armory Track & Field Center, beginning at 10:00 AM.