Track & field progresses at Rider Invite
By Jordan Hall
After a productive performance at the Duke Invitational, the Rider track and field team had another solid showing for its first home meet of the season, the Rider Invitational.
The women’s side came in first out of the seven teams that competed last weekend while the men finished third out of six.
“As a team I feel as though we are coming into our own,” said sophomore John Clark.
Clark set a personal record in the discus by almost 10 ft. at the Duke Invitational with a distance of 161’6”, and he followed that up by winning the event at the Rider Invitational. He capped off his day by placing second in the shot put with a 46’6” distance and third in the hammer with a 158’2” score.
Because of his impressive performances, the Pennsville native was named MAAC Performer of the Week for all competition from April 6-12.
Senior Marcellus Manning put up big times for the men, placing first in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.24, second in the 400-meter hurdles at 58.82 and ran on the third place 4×400 relay team.
Sophomore Michael Soroko also finished with a great meet, winning the steeplechase in 9:45.74.
The women continued to impress, with senior Tabatha Haskins leading the way. The team captain finished in first for the triple jump at 36’1.25”, second in the high jump at 5’2.25” and third in the 100-meter hurdles with a 16.25 time. She also placed fourth in the long jump and sixth in the javelin, doing a little bit of everything for the Broncs.
Fellow senior Kelly Kajunski followed her lead, winning the high jump at 5’3” and finishing fifth in the long jump at 15’6.25”. Another senior who put in solid times was Ashley Maynard. She came in first in the 400-meter hurdles with a 1:10.39 time, gaining her first collegiate win.
Other women with successful days were junior Alicia Price, who came in second in the hammer and third in the discus, and junior Karlise Cureton, who finished second in the 200-meter.
Next up for Rider is the Larry Ellis Princeton Invitational this weekend to which it brings plenty of momentum.
“We finished in the top three as a team, so hopefully this will build up some momentum and springboard us into some great performances,” Clark said.
