Men’s squad finishes strong in Va.

By Victoria Lyons

The Colonial Relays was a tale of two teams for Rider’s track and field teams as the men finished 12th out of 30 teams, and the women placed 29th out of 30.
The event was hosted by the College of William and Mary last Friday and Saturday.
There were men and women who had admirable performances, but others came up short in some areas, according to Head Coach Bob Hamer.
“There were some real good performances and some bad performances as well,” he said. “I had higher expectations for the team going into the meet but sometimes an athlete will have a bad day.”
The Rider men had many accomplishments this past weekend, including the 4 x 110 meter shuttle hurdles relay team, consisting of freshmen David Hightower, James Burroughs and Jammar Lim, and sophomore Ron Moore placing first with a time of 1:00.64.
“The shuttle hurdle relay did real well and surprised a lot of people by winning,” Hamer said. “That group works real hard and they were rewarded with a victory.”
Junior John Clark placed second in the discus with a distance of 48.15 meters, while freshman Jorge Merino was right behind him in third with a length of 45.58 meters.
Also for the men was the distance medley relay (DMR) team of freshmen Greg Wesh and Daequan Kim, sophomore David South and junior Christian Gonzalez clinching eighth with a time of 10:01.52, while the 4 x 100 meter relay made up of Lim, Kim, Burroughs and Hightower finished 13th with a time of 43.46.
For the Rider women it was more of struggle, but the DMR team of sophomore Heather Giovagnoli, freshman Ashley Hunter and juniors Johanna Clarke and Chelsea Callan was able to break a Rider record by 18 seconds with a time of 12:18.94, coming in eighth place.
Senior Alicia Price placed 10th in the shot put with a distance of 12.74 meters, while the 4 x 100 meter relay team of freshman Mia Riley, juniors Shaylah Counts and Jillian Rubbico and Hunter finished 10th in 48.86.
“Ashley Hunter had a real good weekend individually in the hurdles and she ran three strong relay legs,” Hamer said. “She has the ability and work ethic to accomplish a lot this season, and we are excited about her progress as a freshman.”
Also for the Rider women was the 4 x 400 meter team of Counts, Riley, Hunter and freshman Lauren Findley coming in 12th, earning a time of 3:57.62.
“We just need to learn from this experience and carry it forward with us and hopefully perform better at the next opportunity,” Hamer said. “We have been inconsistent in our performance over the first few weeks of the season, and that is going to be our focus for the next few weeks — improving our consistency in training and competition.”
Next up, the track and field teams will host the Rider Invitational tomorrow.