On Friday, Feb. 24, seven members of the Ramapo College men’s indoor track and field team and five members of the Ramapo College women’s indoor track and field team competed at the Fastrack Last Chance Meet at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island.
For the men, Saim Syed and Anthony Bertollo set new personal bests in the 800-meter race. Syed clocked in at 1:59.60 and placed sixth while Bertollo placed eighth at 1:59.96. Michael Mohr also ran in the 800-meter race and recorded a time of 2:03.66.
In the 3k, Jason Mercado ran a new personal best as he placed fifth overall with a time of 8:52.35. Ian McCauley was right behind him in seventh place. In the 200-meter dash, Kenyon Fenderson recorded a time of 22.87 seconds while Terrell Lockett recorded a time of 23.32 seconds.
For the women, Suzanne Zaugg set a new personal best and qualified for the upcoming AARTFC Regional Meet in the 3k with a time of 10:27.96. Zaugg placed fifth overall while her time is No. 2 all-time at Ramapo.
Zoey Cassavell also clocked in with a new personal best in the mile at 5:20 for a sixth-place finish and her time is now seventh all-time in program history.
In the 200-meter dash, Gbarper Dwah placed sixth in 25.67 seconds while teammate Meredith Yaskovic finished in eighth with a time of 25.91 seconds. Both Dwah and Yaskovic’s times are AARTFC qualifiers. Rebecca Kneppel posted a time of 59.12 seconds for a sixth-place finish in the 400-meter dash, which allowed her to also post an AARTFC qualifying time.
These results were followed by an impressive 2023 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Indoor Track & Field Championships for both the men’s and women’s teams that were the weekend prior, with both teams coming in fourth place.
For the women, Dwah was crowned NJAC Champion in the 60-meter dash as she crossed the finish line in 7.66 seconds, she just missed the NJAC Championship meet record by six one-hundredths of a second. Kneppel finished in seventh place in the same event with a time of 8.05 seconds.
Dwah was later named NJAC Runner-Up in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.36 seconds, finishing second overall, while Kneppel grabbed a sixth-place finish in 25.65 seconds.
In the 5k run, Zaugg grabbed a third-place finish with a time of 19.22.94 while Cassavell placed fifth overall in the mile run with a personal best time of 5:21.14. Cassavell’s time is currently eighth best in program history.
The distance medley relay team finished in third place overall when they clocked in at 13:11.22. The team was made up of Cassavell, Yaskovic, Kacy Ewing and Zaugg. The 4×400-meter relay team out-kicked Stockton down the stretch to take second place in 3:59.18, a season-best. The team was made up of Dwah, Dina Ayoub, Barbara Exilus and Kneppel.
For the men, Cheickna Traore defended his 60-meter and 200-meter indoor titles. He won his second NJAC Indoor 60-meter title when he clocked in at 6.81 seconds, just one one-hundredths of a second off his own NJAC Championship record time. Traore defended his 200-meter dash crown with a meet record time of 21.35 seconds.
In the men’s mile, two Roadrunners finished in the top 10 overall as Ryan Pena placed sixth and Bertollo placed ninth. Max Dubac had a fifth-place finish in the 800-meter run while Syed placed seventh.
The distance medley relay team made up of Bertollo, Syed, George Losche and Mohr grabbed a second-place finish as they recorded a time of 10:50.21. The 4×400-meter relay team also placed second overall in 3:21.49. The squad was made up of Lockett, Traore, Dubac and Fenderson.
Jason Potterton grabbed a top-10 finish in the triple jump finishing in seventh place overall. Zach Hartung finished in eighth place in the shot put, with a mark of 13.38 meters. In the weight throw, Sebastian Pross placed sixth and Braden Holm placed seventh.
The Roadrunners who qualified for the All-Atlantic Region Championships will compete on March 3 and 4 at the N.Y. Armory.
twaschek@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of RCNJ Athletics
