The Fordham indoor track team is set to head to Boston, Massachusetts this weekend for the Terrier Classic
By Bryan Kiel
The Fordham track and field team was back in action on Friday, competing at the Metro Team Challenge at The Armory Track and Field Center. The Rams competed in their first team-scored event and had a number of scoring finishers in multiple events. The men’s team placed ninth overall out of 22 teams, while the women placed 11th out of 21 teams.
The men were led by senior captain Lester Taylor, who continued his strong senior campaign. He gave the Rams their lone event win in the 1000m run with a time of 2:17.14, an IC4A-qualifying finish. A trio of sophomores, led by Devin Rocks, gave Fordham 3 top-eight finishes in the 3000m run. Rocks came in at 8:53.68, while Jake Duckworth finished in seventh with a time of 8:54.59 followed by Adam Schwenzfeier with a time of 8:55.9 for eighth place. Fordham also had a strong showing from the distance medley relay team, which came in third. The team, consisting of junior Michael Turi, sophomore Peter Strom and freshman John Tannian and Louis Santelli, finished with a time of 10:24.79. Senior thrower Austin Ruiz placed in the shot-put, coming in sixth place with a mark of 13.59m, while freshman Nik O’Brien placed in the mile run with a time of 4:21.17. Fordham also featured freshman Ryan Riviere in the pole vault, who cleared the bar at 4.20m, but missed the scoring mark of 4.35m.
Riviere is Fordham’s only pole vaulter for the men’s squad and a new addition this year.
“This week’s meet was a great improvement from the previous,” Riviere said. “The indoor season has started off strong, and I plan on keeping this momentum through both the indoor and outdoor seasons.”
The women also featured a number of scoring times, with top performers in the 400m and relay events. Junior Danielle Rowe took fifth in the 400 with a time of 57.90, while senior captain Kristen Stuart was eighth in 58.02. The 4×400 relay team, consisting of Stuart, Rowe, senior Elise Tigani and freshman Merissa Wright took sixth in 3:55.50. The distance medley relay team, consisting of seniors Mara Lieberman and Melissa Higgins, sophomore Brianne Roche and freshman Laura Jaeger, also took sixth with a time of 12:27.47. Lieberman and Higgins also scored individually, as Lieberman took fifth in the mile run with a time of 5:07.75 and Higgins took sixth in the 1000m run in 2:58.98. Sophomore Ariana Bottalico also contributed to the team’s scoring with a time of 10:29.94 in the 3000m run, coming in eighth.
The meet featured a number of freshmen and veteran-rookie tandems that seemed to work well in team scoring. The distance medley relay teams for both the men and women highlighted this. For example, Jenn Boerke in sprints and Kylie Farrell in jumping events showcased a fast-improving group of underclassmen who will lead Fordham in coming years, possibly even contributing later in the season.
“My goal was to run faster than the meet prior, and I did,” Boerke said, who finished 21st in the 200m and 30th in the 400m with times of 26.72 and 1:00.48, respectively. “I can definitely still improve. I have four years to become the best I can be, but I want to become a valuable member of this team this year, and that is my ultimate goal.”
The Rams will be in Boston next weekend to compete in the Terrier Classic, hosted by Boston University. The meet will conclude on Jan. 31.
