Staten Island, N.Y. – (January 31, 2025) – The first championship of the indoor track & field season took place on Friday with the 2025 Metropolitan Indoor Track & Field Championship, held at the Ocean Breeze Complex on Staten Island.
The Fordham women had a huge day, placing second out of 13 teams, scoring 203 points, the most-ever for the Rams at the Metropolitan Championship. The Rams finished behind only St. John's with a score of 247.5 points.
Fordham's day was highlighted by eight event wins, two of which came from
Katarina Birimac. She first won the mile run in 4:54.11 and came back later to win the 1,000-meter run in 2:56.20.
Marisa House joined Birimac in the scoring column in the mile run in sixth place (5:32.98), while
Alexis Smith (3:04.97) and
Sophia Oliva (3:05.07) were right behind Birimac in the 1,000 meters in third and fourth place, respectively.
Sarah Zahaykevich had the first event win of the day in the 5,000-meter run in 17:55.44, while Grace Keny scored seventh in 19:07.59.
The next win on the track came in the 500 meters, where
Sara Labor took the top spot in 1:15.71, while
Alexandra Williams was second in 1:15.84. The final individual track win came in the 3,000-meter run, as
Meredith Gotzman won the event in 9:59.48, while a trio of Rams,
Kate Meeks (4
th – 10:33.80),
Madeleine Ryan (6
th – 10:46.10), and
Ciara McGroary (7
th – 11:04.97) also scored in the event.
In other running events, Kylie Rtz scored second in the 60-meter hurdles (8.86), as did
Nicole Lytle (4
th – 9.22), and
Leia Ruvo (7
th – 9.39), while
Jasmine Hope grabbed second in the 60-meter dash at 7.71 seconds. The 400-meter dash saw
Michele Daye score seventh in 58.63 with
Kathleen Keefe (2:20.19) and
Brenna Sears (2:21.74) finishing sixth and seventh, respectively, in the 800-meter run.
Alexandria Yarbrough also scored individually with a fifth place finish in the 200-meter dash in 25.61 seconds.
In the relays, the Rams were third in the 4x200 (1:45.76) and distance medley relay (12:53.29), while being second in the 4x800 (9:39.90) and 4x400 (3:55.77).
The field events saw three event wins, as
Zoe Arakelian and Ruvo tied for first in the high jump, clearing 5' 5", while
Alexandra Manetovic grabbed third (5' 5") and
Lexi Fujita was sixth (5' 1"). Manetovic then won the triple jump with a distance of 38' 1 ½" with
Ashley Holbrook in eighth (34' ¾").
Hope added to her point total from the 60-meter dash by winning the long jump with a mark of 18' 8 ½" with
Ileana Chlorou placing fifth at 16' 10 ¼".
Michaela Gier was the final scorer in the field event, netting fourth in the pole vault, clearing 9' 10".
Among the throwing events,
Sarah Cooley was Fordham's top performer in the throwing events, placing tenth in the shot put (36' 4 ½") and weight throw (46 2').
The Rams are next in action on Saturday, February 8
th, as Fordham will be competing at both the Millrose Games at the Nike Track & Field Center at the Armory in New York and the Big Apple Invitational on Staten Island.
