The Fordham men’s and women’s track and field teams started their outdoor season this past weekend in Virginia, competing in the Fred Hardy Invitational held at the University of Richmond. The Rams had some stellar performances, with one event win and many top 10 finishes.
Many of the Fordham women finished in the top 10. Sophomore Stephanie Leo came in second in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 11:43.01, while freshman Laurel Fisher came in sixth with a time of 12:05.3. Many also competed in the 3000m race. Freshman Kate McCormack placed 4th with a time of 10:31.09, junior Shanna Heaney placed fifth with a time of 10:34.31 and senior Rachel Picard placed sixth with a time of 10:36.25. Sophomore Brynna Harum placed seventh with a time of 10:36.81 and junior Josephine Jacob-Dolan placed eighth with a time of 10:37.47. Heaney also finished ninth in the 1500m with a time of 4:43.32. Graduate student Brianna Tevnan placed fourth in the 5000m with a time of 18:33.86. Freshman Mary Kate Kenny came in sixth in the 100m race with a time of 12.64. Senior Danielle Rowe competed in the 400m run and came in seventh with a time of 57.45. Finally, freshman Morgan Menzzasalma came in fourth in the 400m hurdles with a finishing time of 1:05.10.
The men’s side also had a number of top 10 finishes. Sophomore Louis Santelli came in third in the 1500m with a time of 3:58.37. Freshman Sean Phillips came in third in the 800m with a time of 1:56.01, also finishing eighth in the 1500m with a time of 4:03.82. Freshman Jordan Allen finished fourth in the 200m run with a time of 21.87, and also came in ninth in the 100m run with a time of 11.15. Sophomore Fritz Heinrich finished fifth in both the 800m with a 1:57.78 time and in the 1500m with a 3:59.99 time.
Sophomore Michael Campbell placed sixth in the 800m with a time of 1:58.00. Freshman Patrick Dineen finished eighth in the 3000m with a 9:16.21 time. Finally, junior Ryan McGann finished ninth in the 1500m race with a time of 4:03.90.
Besides the top 10 finishers, there was an event winner and four relay teams that showed great success.
Junior Jake Duckworth took the first place title in the 5000m with a finishing time of 15:15.61. There were two women relay teams, the 4×400 A team and the 4×400 B team. The B team was composed of all freshmen, Elizabeth Morisseau, Aidan Moroz, McCormack and Laurel Fisher, who came in sixth place with a time of 4:03.41. The A team, which took second place with a time of 3:56.20, consisted of Kenny, Heaney, Menzzasalma and Rowe.
The men’s relays ran the 4×800 race, and both the A and B team had successful results. The B team, which came in third with a time of 8:11.50, consisted of Campbell, Dineen, Duckworth and Heinrich. The A team, composed of graduate student Jonathan Annelli, sophomore Brian Cook, sophomore Nikolas O’Brien and senior Quincy O’Connor, took the first place position with a finishing time of 7:56.20.
The Rams turned in a solid performance at the Fred Hardy Invitational. Proud of its start to the 2016 outdoor season, the team is looking forward to working harder and competing in the upcoming meets.
The teams return to action this weekend, April 1 and 2, competing in the Colonial Relays in Williamsburg, Virginia.
