The men and women’s track teams took to Staten Island, New York late February to compete at the Fastrack Last Chance Meet.
For the women, senior Suzanne Zaugg finished at 10:33.10 in the 3k, earning third place. The 200m dash was run by freshmen Mia Perez, Ashley Gordon and Jianna Gorospe, along with juniors Barbara Exilus and Rebecca Kneppel.
Kneppel led the team of five with a ninth place finish at 25.38 seconds, recording a seasonal best. Gorospe set a personal best time of 27.78 seconds, Exilus not far behind with a finishing time of 28.16 seconds. Gordon clocked in at 28.41 seconds with Perez following at 29.50 seconds.
For the men, junior Brandon Balcacer placed 14th in the 60m dash, recording a time of 7.05 seconds. Freshmen Michael Okafor-Brown and Logan Natale, sophomore Matthew Suero and junior Terrell Lockett competed in the 200m dash.
Lockett led the men with a time of 22.94 seconds, followed by Natale with 23.46 seconds. Suero came in at 23.70 seconds and Okafor-Brown clocked in at 23.88 seconds. The men finished in 27th, 43rd, 49th and 53rd, respectively.
Seniors Ryan Scully and Michael Mohr ran the 800m, and saw Scully placing 27th with a time of 2:01.27 and Mohr obtaining 32nd place at 2:02.95.
Sophomore Ryan Pena was the only Roadrunner to participate in the 1,000m, earning 16th place with a time of 2:41.55. He then went on to compete in the mile, along with senior Anthony Bertollo. Clocking in at 4:22.52, Pena secured 14th place. Bertollo recorded a time of 4:29.92, finishing in 25th place.
Seniors Mohamed Nidaazzi and Jason Mercado ran the 3,000m, and saw Nidaazzi finishing in the top ten at ninth place with a time of 8:48.56. Mercado placed 19th, clocking in at 9:19.74. Freshman Jake Angco competed in the long jump, placing 18th with a mark of 5.80m.
Last Friday and Saturday, the women Roadrunners who qualified for the All-Atlantic Region Outdoor Championships competed in Rochester, New York.
To no one’s surprise, freshman Dale Leonard excelled, winning the mile with a time of 4:55.72, a new meet record time. In the NCAA DIII rankings for this season, Leonard sits in seventh.
Junior Zoey Cassavell ran the mile as well, finishing at 5:25.03 for a 22nd overall placement. Kneppel placed third in the 200m dash, clocking in at 25.80 seconds. She ran the 4x200m relay alongside Gorospe, Exilus and Gordon, the team finishing 13th with a combined time of 1:49.17.
Due to Leonard’s incredible season of breaking and setting records, she will be competing at the 2024 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships. Best of luck to her!
ajones11@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of Ramapo Athletics
