Track Closes Indoor Season in Boston

The+Fordham+Indoor+Track+season+concluded+this+past+weekend+in+Boston.+%28Courtesy+of+Fordham+Athletics%29

The Fordham Indoor Track season concluded this past weekend in Boston. (Courtesy of Fordham Athletics)

By Emmanuel Berbari

Fordham Track & Field concluded its indoor season in Boston, Mass. this past weekend at the 2019 ECAC/IC4A Indoor Track & Field Championship, hosted by Boston University.

There were 11 events on Saturday that resulted in four championship appearances on Sunday as the Rams made their mark ahead of the outdoor slate.

Junior Ryan Kutch was the only Ram to score on Sunday, placing fourth overall in the 5,000 meter in a season-best of 14:13.04.

Sophomore Nikolas Reardon came close to a second scoring effort, but finished ninth in the long jump (22’ 6 ¼”). Sophomore Kathryn Kelly, senior Aidan Moroz and sophomore Arthur Gooden Jr., joined by the men’s 4×800 relay team, all qualified for Sunday finals in the preliminary races.

Kelly qualified fourth in the 200 meter dash, making school history in a speedy 24.25 seconds. She topped senior teammate Mary Kate Kenny’s previous record from earlier this season.

Moroz clocked in at 1:14.32 in the 500 meter, a season best performance, qualifying fifth in a small field. On the men’s side of the 500, Gooden also dashed to his best run of the season (1:03.71), qualifying third for Sunday’s finals.

The men’s 4×800 relay capped off the Sunday qualifiers, as freshman Zalen Nelson, sophomore Christopher Strzelinski, Gooden and junior Sean Sullivan qualified sixth in 7:37.38.

On Sunday, Fordham translated Saturday’s preliminary efforts into a 16th-place women’s finish and 17th-place men’s ranking.

The women’s distance medley relay team — consisting of seniors Laurel Fisher and Aidan Moroz, sophomore Sarinnagh Budris and junior Katarzyna Krzyzanowski — stole the show, edging Elon University by 1.43 seconds to win the ECAC title in 11:44.19.

Kelly, who placed third in the 200 meter in a school-record time 24.23, also scored for the women’s side, breaking her one-day-old record. Moroz also competed in the 500 meter to finish off her weekend, stacking up eighth in 1:14.70.

For the men’s team, Gooden Jr’s season-best 1:03.51 in the 500 meter was good enough for third place, a mere 0.19 off the pace set by the University of Connecticut’s Colt Nichols.

On a longer scale, Nicholas Raefski placed 16th in the 3,000 meter (8:21.15).

The 4×800 team of Nelson, Strzelinski, Sullivan and freshman Jeremiah LaDuca mustered 7:37.15, ranking seventh among the crowd.

Fordham will turn its focus to the outdoor season, with hopes of growth from a season with flashes of excellence.