By Andrew Posadas
Fordham Indoor Track has about a month and a half of its season remaining. The Atlantic 10 Championship will be held at George Mason University on February 23-24, followed by the ECAC/IC4A Championships at Boston University on March 2nd-3rd. At its conclusion, we will have to wait about three weeks until the outdoor track and field season gets underway.
Fordham Track and Field kicks off its outdoor season in mid-March. Head coach Thomas Dewey strongly believes his team has the potential to be even stronger heading into the spring. On the men’s side, the team welcomes back two of its star runners in graduate students Brian Cook and Louis Santelli. Coach Dewey described both Cook and Santelli as “two of our better athletes,” surmising that the experience they bring to the table automatically strengthens the outdoor men’s team.
Looking at the women’s team, seniors Mary Kate Kenny, Kate McCormack and Aidan Moroz continue to lead the way for the Rams this outdoor season. McCormack and Moroz are currently qualified for the ECAS/IC4A Indoor Championships in the 1,000 and 500 meter run, respectively. Coach Dewey praised how much talent the women’s team possesses throughout the roster. Dewey admitted most of the freshmen will have to wait their turn, but in this situation, it is not a bad thing to learn from experienced upperclassmen.
As for exciting freshmen looking to make an impact, the men’s team has two runners that have caught coach Dewey’s eye so far. Freshmen Zalen Nelson and Jeremiah Laduca are mid-distance runners gaining valuable experience during the current indoor season. Recently, the two underclassmen finished top-30 for IC4A qualifying in the 1,000 meter run. While neither ended up making the cut, Coach Dewey sees potential that should translate once outdoor track and field begins.
The Fordham women’s track and field team boasts a very promising freshman of their own in Dominique Valentine. Valentine finished 12th in the 500 meter run which was not good enough to qualify for indoors, but is an auspicious start moving forward into the spring.
Another freshman on the women’s team that deserves recognition is The Fordham Ram’s own, Kaley Bell. Bell is currently a writer for The Ram’s sports section where she has her own student-athlete column. Detailing how she juggles academic life with her athletic adventure, Bell looks to have a promising future in both track and journalism.
When asked what message he plans on giving the team heading into the outdoor season, Dewey kept it at one word: “Compete.”
Dewey describes the sport of track and field as “hard-core competition” that requires intense focus to cancel out various distractions. Last outdoor season, six women qualified for the ECAC Championship while five men qualified. Coach Dewey expects both of those numbers to rise if the Rams maintain proper focus throughout the season.
The Rams begin the outdoor season at the University of Richmond for the Fred Hardy Invitational on March 22.
