Track and field breaks two Rider records
By Kristie Kahl
The Broncs returned home from the Larry Ellis Invitational with two Rider records and numerous individual
rankings to show for the weekend.
Sophomore Kelsey Kohler finished 27th in the 5,000-meter with a Rider record time of 18:10.29 while junior Elizabeth Spokony set a Rider record in the triple jump at 11.77 meters.
“Liz [Spokony] set the record in both of her attempts,” Head Coach Rob Pasquariello told Rider Sports Information. “She was our top finisher of the [second] day.”
On the first day of competition, freshman John Clark finished fifth in the discus while sophomore Kevin Breen was ninth in the pole vault.
Some members of the men’s team also accomplished personal best times, with senior John Smith placing 15th in the 5,000-meter with a time of 14:42.67 and freshman Christian Gonzalez placing 52nd with a time of 3:55.86.
“The distance runners really paced themselves,” Assistant Coach Bob Hamer told Rider Sports Information. “They ran a smart race and put themselves in position to be competitive at the end. We got great results as a result of that effort.”
For the women, sophomore Jennifer Alksmant placed eighth in the discus with a distance of 37.81 meters, junior Rebecca Reidel placed 21st in the discus and junior Kelly Wojciehowski was 29th in the 5,000-meter.
On the second day of competition, Spokony placed fourth in the triple jump and 14th in the long jump.
Sophomore Lauren Lester finished fourth in the 1,500-meter while sophomore Dominique Carnevale finished fifth in the 3,000-meter and freshman Ashley O’Brien followed behind in 10th place. Sophomore Alicia Price placed 11th in the shot put with a distance of 12.03 meters.
Also for the women, freshman Chelsea Callan was 17th in the 800-meter with junior Megan Crowe coming in behind at 23rd. Junior Tabatha Haskins placed 18th in the long jump while junior Patrice Mahoney finished 25th in the 1,500-meter.
As for the men, Gonzalez was ninth in the 800-meter while senior Andrew Dagenais placed 10th in the javelin and Clark placed 12th in the shot put with a distance of 14.23 meters.
Sophomore Brandon Wolf placed 16th in the hammer and 20th in the shot put and junior A.J. Parillo finished 18th in the 200-meter. Freshman Peter Wandell placed 17th in the 800-meter while senior Jeff Stead came in 19th.
“As far as the team goes, I think mentally we all need to start competing better,” Lester said. “We all have the training that we need and we are ready for something good. We just need to put our heads in it and race. The coaches have prepared us the best they could and now it is up to us.”
The Broncs will travel to UPenn for the Penn Relays this weekend.
