Ramapo’s track teams look to shine at championships

Photo courtesy of Ramapo Athletics

With the Ramapo men's basketball team concluding their season this past week, track and field looks to take the spotlight after sensational performances from athletes representing both men’s and women’s divisions.

The team is off to another solid start this season — placing third overall at the 2018-2019 NJAC Indoor Track & Field Championships — with notable performances from Jason Rodriguez, sophomore, Kevin Campbell, freshman and Jose De La Cruz. De La Cruz stole most of the headlines when he was crowned NJAC Champion in the 800-meter run when he crossed the finish line with a 1:56.84.

Both the men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams then looked to continue their hot-streak at the 2019 All-Atlantic Region Championships Friday and Saturday, hosted by Ithaca College in New York.

The men’s teams were met with less success this time around finishing in 35th place, yet they put up admirable performances nonetheless.

In the mile run, sophomore Thomas Holster, placed second in his heat and seventh overall with a posted time of 4:22.10. Right behind him, freshman Chris Andersen finished with a time of 4:23.08 for a 10th place finish.

Senior Dillon Fisher placed fourth (14th overall) in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.67 seconds, and fellow senior Will McCoy finished the 5k with a blazing-fast time of 15:47.90. And to round it out, senior Matt Tuohy recorded a time of 9:03.70 in the 3,000-meter run for a 23rd place finish.  

This time however, the women's indoor track & field team ran away with the competition boasting several high placements and a record breaking jump from pole vaulter Kristina Langan.

Langan — who’s currently competing as a freshman — managed to capture a first place finish in the pole vault when she cleared 3.82-meters, a personal best. Besides breaking her own personal record, Langan’s jump marks the second best in Ramapo indoor track and field history, and ties the sixth best jump in NCAA Division III this season.

Much of this women’s team managed to put up staggering numbers as well including junior Jennifer Polo, who ran a 18:20.83 in the 5K race, placing 11th overall. Her time ranked as the third best on the indoor top ten list.

Sisters Judanicka and Judlynn Julceus finished one after the other posting times of 8.05 seconds (11th place) and 8.10 seconds (12th place) respectively.

The team as a whole put up a formidable performance, with Langan now qualified as one of 20 accepted entries to compete in the 2019 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the pole vault.

She’s now won the pole vault in five of the seven meets she’s competed in, along with an All-Atlantic Region Championship and NJAC Championship as icing on the cake. In addition, she’s recently been named NCAA Division III/USTFCCCA All-Atlantic Region along with NJAC All-Conference First Team.

The championships will be held March 8-9 at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston, Massachusetts where Langan will look to put up another record-setting performance.

 

imccall@ramapo.edu