Track & Field Competes at Ramapo Season Opener

Results | Photo Gallery

New York, N.Y. – (January 19, 2024) – It was another successful day for the Fordham track & field team on Friday as the team made its second visit of the season to the Armory Track & Field Center in New York.  This time, it was for the Ramapo College Season Opener.
 
The highlights for the Rams started early with Sarah Zahaykevich winning the first event of the day, the women's 5,000-meter run, in a time of 18:59.95.
 
Another highlight came early when Michaela Gier broke the school record in the women's pole vault event, clearing 10' 10" for third place, breaking the 2013 mark of 10' 6", set by Nicole Ragucci.
 
Fordham's second event win came from Kylie Ritz, who won the unseeded 60-meter dash in 8.08 seconds.  She later joined the 4x400 relay team of Quincy Biddle, Molly Mulvaney, and Brenna Sears to finish ninth in 4:11.98.
 
Sears and Mulvaney were also Fordham's top performers in the 800 meters and mile run, respectively.  Sears posted a season-best time of 2:21.66 in the 800 meters to place fifth, while Mulvaney was 15^th in the mile run at 5:29.83.  Other top performers in the women's track events included were Alexandra Williams in the 200 (9^th – 26.13) and 400 meters (6^th – 59.82), Caroline McDonagh in the 3,000 meters (10:34.54), and Nicole Lytle in the seeded 60-meter dash (13^th – 8.25).
 
Aside from Gier's school record, Fordham had three more season-best performances on the day.  Sarah Cooley was fifth in the shot put at 36' 3 ½", while placing ninth in the weight throw with a season-best mark of 42' 4 ¾".  In triple jump, Leia Ruvo took second with a season-best mark of 37' 2 ½", while the high jump saw Zoe Arakelian (2^nd) and Alexandra Manetovic (3^rd) both clear 5' 3 ¾", which is the best by a Ram this year.
 
On the men's side, Fordham waited to the final individual track event for a win, as Sean Reidy won the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:47.57, followed by Jack Boerger in third place at 8:53.87.
 
The Rams were also strong in the field events with Eric Galante placing fourth in the long jump at a season-best mark of 22' 3 ¾".  DaRon Elam also claimed a fourth-place finish in the high jump, clearing 6' 1 ½", while Michael Croke was fifth in the pole vault at a height of 14' 1 ¼".  Additionally, Christopher Martinez was 14^th in the triple jump at 40' 6 ¾".
 
Back on the track, Dakota Strain, Trevor Rinn, Yariv Simhony, and Jonah Coleman each had a top ten finish.  Strain finished sixth in the 200-meter dash at 22.63 seconds with Coleman being eighth in the unseeded 60-meter dash (7.42).  Simhony took eighth in the 800 meters at 1:58.82, while Rinn was ninth in the mile run with a season-best time of 4:23.31.
 
Other top performers included Jabril Carter in the seeded 60-meter dash (7.19) and Sam Freeman in the 400 meters (51.72).  The final men's event saw George Pomer, Carter, Rinn, and Liam Volz take eighth in the 4x400 relay in 3:32.28.
 
Fordham is back in action on January 26-27 at the River Hawk Invitational, which will be held at the TRACK at new balance in Brighton, Massachusetts.