Champions at Last
Women finally overcome Manhattan; men finish close second

By Leo D. Rommel

Like a middle child living in the shadow of an older sibling, the Rider women’s track and field squads – always so potent, always a contender – went a decade without being taken seriously.

Say no more.

The squad at long last got over the hump and gave the school its first athletic title of the year on Saturday when it thwarted longtime rival Manhattan, 195-169.5, to capture its first MAAC Indoor Championship. The win snaps the Jasper women’s 10-year stranglehold on the conference.

“First off, my congratulations goes to the entire Rider program for a fantastic meet,” Manhattan Head Coach Dan Mecca told gojaspers.com. “Their coaching staff has always done a great job and their athletes are deserving of the accomplishment.”

Senior Jazmine Fenlator won both events she participated in – the shot put and the weight throw (16.54 meters) – and shared the MAAC Most Outstanding Co-Performer award for field events with Manhattan’s Tiina Magi, who earned gold medals in the long jump, pole vault and triple jump. Fenlator’s shot put of 14.80 meters set a new school and conference record.

“The seniors remembered the championship that we won as freshmen and we saw today as an opportunity to go out with a bang and we did,” Fenlator, who was a freshman on the 2004 spring outdoor team that went on to win its conference crown, told Rider Sports Information. “Everyone contributed, from the freshmen all the way up to the seniors.”

Fenlator’s performance was supported by the exceptional play of freshman Alicia Price and sophomore Tabatha Haskins. Price placed second in the shot put (12.24 meters) and second in the weight throw (12.73 meters) while Haskins finished second in the long jump (5.25 meters), second in the 55-meter hurdles (8.42), third in the triple jump (11.26 meters) and fourth in the high jump (1.60 meters).

“It feels amazing to have been a part of the Rider team this year,” said Price. “I am so amazed at how well everyone performed. Everyone on the team has worked hard throughout the winter season and to have been a part of that effort is a great feeling.”

Rider’s men, however, were not able to escape their traditional second-place finish. Even though a handful of Manhattan’s well-known players – such as senior Nick Newman, junior Margus Must and freshman Andreas Weber – were absent because of injuries, the Jaspers sidestepped the Rider threat to win comfortably, 176-134, for its 11th indoor title in as many years.

The win was punctuated by the play of Darnell Douglas, who, before cramping up in the 200-meter dash, set a MAAC record with a time of 48.75 in the 400-meter dash. The previous record, which was 48.88 by Manhattan’s Steve Neal, had stood for 17 years.

“We were banged up going in, and then when Darnell pulled up, everyone else had to step up for us to win and they did,” said Mecca, who earned men’s Coach of the Year honors. “This was an terrific effort and every guy who went out and competed tonight did their job well.”

A bulk of Manhattan’s thunder was ultimately stolen when Rider senior David Payne was named the Most Outstanding Male Track Performer for winning the 55-meter dash (6.36) and the 200-meter dash (21.77). Junior Randy Nixon also had an impressive showing. He won the 55-meter hurdles (7.55), finished second in the 55-meter dash (6.56) and placed fourth in the 200-meter dash (22.83).

“Not to sound cocky, but I knew going in that I would do well,” said Payne, who is considering going pro after graduation. “I work very hard all the time and it was fulfilling to have performed the way I did, but I’m not peaking yet. I still want to improve in both of my events.”

Nonetheless, unlike their female teammates, the men are confined to another year of and wondering what could have been.

“We finished closer this year than we ever have before,” said Head Coach Rob Pasquariello, who was awarded the women’s Conference Coach of the Year honor. “Manhattan just has more bodies and we needed to be clean and pristine and we didn’t quite have the perfect day that we needed to have.”

Though greatly talented on an annual basis, the men have yet to win an indoor or outdoor championship during their 11-year stay in the MAAC. They won three times when Rider was part of the Northeast Conference, in 1993, 1995 and 1996.