The Stony Brook Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track teams opened up the calendar year with a combined 15 first-place finishes at the Sean Atkinson Invite at Fordham University on Jan. 15.
Both teams dominated competition from Fordham and Fairleigh Dickinson, the other two schools competing at the event. The men’s track team participated in 13 events and scored 243 points to Fairleigh Dickinson’s 106 and Fordham’s 39. After 14 events, the women’s track team finished with 236 points, while Fairleigh Dickinson scored 117 and Fordham finished with 53.
Freshmen came up big for each team. For the women, sprinter Chinque Thompson won both the 60-meter dash in 7.87 seconds and the 200-meter dash in 26.89, while classmate Nikki Fogarty finished first in the 60-meter hurdle with a time of 9.26 seconds. The freshmen 4×400-meter team of Lauren Wangenstein, Dara Smith, Ronke Osipitan and Melissa Riback finished the race in 4:14.43, good for a first-place-finish.
Four freshmen on the men’s team also won the 4×400-meter race. Sprinters Pedro Arias, Abass Braimah, Kevon White and Wayne Williams won the race in 3:29.58. Classmates Izzy Matthew and Jason Marshall came in first in the triple jump and high jump, respectively.
The freshmen were not the only ones making noise at Fordham, as several of the upperclassmen had first place finishes as well.
Junior Christine Eisenberg won the women’s 1,000-meter run in 3:04.31. Eisenberg, along with sophomore Jane Clark, junior Maura McCabe and junior Megan Cooney took first place in the distance medley race with a time of 13:01.67.
Not to be outdone, the men’s distance medley team consisting of sophomores Thomas Wimmers, Dan Galford and Darian Sorouri and freshman Andreas Lietzau came in first in its race, clocking in at 10:49.97.
Head coach Andy Ronan’s team was looking to add to its successes at the Sean Atkinson Invite at Ocean Breeze Park in Staten Island for the NYC Gotham Games on Jan. 22. The teams finished with one first place finish and several top-five finishes.
But it was senior Christina Melian’s second overall in the 3,000-meter dash with a time of 9:17.84 that stole the show, earning her the second-best collegiate time in the country.
The women’s distance medley team of freshman Holly Manning, juniors Kimberly Decarr and McCabe and senior Kate Pouder had a second place finish with a time of 12:23.88 in the race.
The men’s distance medley team of sophomore Michael Watts, Sorouri and the senior duo of Bradley Amazan and Gabriel Vasquez took first in their race with a time of 10:18.40.
Stony Brook had three third place finishes as well. Sophomore Danny Connelly finished the men’s 3,000-meter dash in 8:26.62, good for third, while Amazan finished third in the 1,000- meter run, clocking in at 2:28.16.
Up next for the Seawolves indoor track is a trip to Boston on Jan. 29 and 30, where both teams will take part in the John Thomas Terrier Classic.
