The Ramapo men’s and women’s track teams both placed fifth overall at the Ramapo College Track & Field Invitational. The meet, which took place on March 30 and 31, saw the women’s team record 60 points and the men’s team record 98.5.
Sophomore Brandon Balcacer clocked in at 10.73 seconds during the prelims for the 100m dash. During the actual event, he recorded a time of 10.81 seconds, earning him first place. He also won the 200m dash, finishing at 21.97.
Junior Terrell Lockett was not far behind, clocking in at 22.42 seconds for a seventh-place finish. Freshman Logan Natale was the only Roadrunner to compete in the 400m dash, in which he placed sixth overall with a time of 52.18 seconds.
The 800m run saw juniors Michael Mohr and Ryan Scully finish sixth overall. Scully recorded a time of 2:00.21 and Mohr clocked in at 2:01.17. Sophomores Ryan Pena and Saim Syed and junior Ian McCauley competed in the 1,500m race, all three men placing in the top 10. Pena came in third with a time of 4:07.10, McCauley placed ninth at 4:18.26 and Syed took 10th place at 4:19.82.
McCauley was one of four who ran the 5k, alongside freshman Julian Mignone, senior Mohamed Nidaazzi and graduate student Jason Mercado. McCauley grabbed fourth place with a time of 15:53.10, Nidaazzi came in sixth, Mercado in seventh and Mignone in ninth. The men finished with times of 16:16.50, 16:22.78 and 16:48.79, respectively.
Mohr, Scully, Mercado and freshman Nick Suero took to the 4x800m relay and saw a third-place finish with a combined time of 8:32.16. The 4x100m relay team, comprised of freshmen Ish Koroma and Bryan Tucker, sophomore Matt Suero and junior Brendan Shaffer, recorded a time of 44.70 seconds for a fifth-place finish.
Pena, Syed, sophomore Colin Unis and junior George Losche ran the 4x400m relay, also finishing fifth overall with a time of 3:34.39. Junior Justin Martone recorded a time of 16.51 seconds in the 110m hurdles, placing fourth.
Sophomore Nicolo Caminiti competed in the high jump, clearing 1.74m for a fifth-place finish. Sophomore Braden Holm took seventh in the shot put after marking 11.37m. He and senior Sebastian Pross competed in the hammer throw, Pross placing second with a mark of 50.21m and Holm finishing fourth with 44.51m. Sophomore Nick Palmadesso marked 39.74m in the javelin throw, placing seventh overall.
The women saw junior Rebecca Kneppel win both the 100m and 200m dashes with times of 12.28 seconds and 24.59 seconds, respectively. Freshman Dale Leonard and junior Barbara Exilus ran the 400m race, Leonard grabbing second at 1:00.35 and Exilus securing fifth with a time of 1:04.13.
Senior Suzanne Zaugg competed in the 800m run, clocking in at 2:24.28 for a fourth-place finish. She also ran the 5k alongside fellow senior Avalina Michel, Zaugg finishing in third at 18:54.89 and Michel finishing seventh with a time of 24:01.71. Junior Zoey Cassavell took fifth place in the 1,500m run, clocking in at 5:03.22.
Exilus, Kneppel and Leonard, along with freshman Izzy Crespo, placed third in the 4x400m relay, finishing at 4:17.08. Freshmen Zoe Gregory, Kiera Gregory, Rea Pagatpatan and sophomore Frankie Cartagena finished at 11:05.48 for a fourth-place finish in the 4x800m relay.
Both teams will return on Saturday for the METs Conference Championships at Icahn Stadium in New York, New York.
ajones11@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of Ramapo Athletics
