By Tom Terzulli

After kicking off the outdoor season in Richmond, VA last weekend, Fordham Track and Field took the short ride to Williamsburg for the Colonial Relays. In their first team-scored meet of the season, the men finished 10th with 28 points and the women tied for 38th, putting 5 points on the board.

On the men’s side, Fordham scored in three events on day one. Junior Thomas Slattery led the way with a second place finish in the 5000m run, posting a time of 14:20.96. Fellow junior Fritz Heinrich took seventh in the 3000m in 8:34.11. In the 400m dash, freshman Michael Petersen placed eighth in 48.80.

Sophomore Jared Benn was another top finisher in the 400m. The Airmont, Ny native crossed the line in 49.58, placing 17th. Other solid performances included: freshman Richard Webber (28th – 22.91) in the 200m and the duo of junior Louis Santelli (20th – 3:56.13) and sophomore Sean Phillips (28th – 3:57.94) in the 1500m run.

Day one brought five top-20 finishes for the women; two of which came from Nkeka Pinheiro. The sophomore placed 10th in the 200m at 25.49 and 16th in the 100m, sprinting to a time of 12.56. Sophomore Mary Kate Kenny was 15th best at 25.78 in the 200m.

Junior Merrisa Wright (17th – 58.64) in the 400m and sophomore Laurel Fisher (20th – 11:03.60) in the 3,000m steeplechase rounded out the Rams in the 20 best.

The women’s success continued on day two with a quartet grabbing third in the 4x800m relay. Senior Shanna Heaney, sophomore Kate McCormack, freshman Sydney Snow and Wright finished the race in 9:21.11. The team of Wright, Kenny, Pinheiro and sophomore Morgan Menzzasalma were also top 20 finishers in the 4x400m. The foursome finished 12th in 3:55.26. Finally, Heaney, McCormack, sophomore Aidan Moroz and senior Georgeanne Siller were 18th in the distance medley relay.

Speaking of relays, the men’s team of Heinrich, Petersen, Phillips and Santelli won the 4x800m in 7:43.02.

Peterson, Benn, Webber and Santelli also placed in a relay top five. The team was third in the 1600m sprint medley relay at 3:26.99. Finally, placing 11th in the distance medley was Benn, Heinrich, Slattery and junior Nik O’Brien in 10:15.20.

In the field, freshman Andrew Byrne tied for seventh in the high jump at at 6’ ½”, while sophomore Neve Devine was 16th best at 4’ 9”. In the triple jump, freshman Gabriella Gavalas finished tenth, topping 36’. Junior Ryan Riviere cleared 13’ 9 ¼” in the pole vault, good for a 12th place finish.

The Rams continue their tour of Virginia next week, where they will participate in the Mason Spring Invitational in Fairfax on April 8th.