DeJong, Henninger lift Broncs

By KAMNI KHAN

Executive Editor

The Rider men’s and women’s track and field teams cleared the pit during last weekend’s competition at the Lafayette Invitational as the Broncs dominated the Steeplechase. Both finished fourth overall but were able to edge out Fairleigh Dickenson.

Senior David DeJong finished first in the 3000m Steeplechase (9:15.61) while sophomore Thomas Misiak finished fifth in 10:20.40.

“I wanted to get a lot of kinks out before Princeton and used that race to get ready,” said DeJong. “I figured out what I need to improve upon; my hurdling was off.”

Sophomore Kate Henninger won the event in a time of 12:48.40 while freshman Megan O’Halloran finished second (12:54.04) and freshman Erica DellaBonta was third (14:19.82).

In the field events, sophomore Gabriel Gonzalez earned first place in the triple jump (12.26m), freshman Kevin Jones finished second in the long jump (6.75m) and junior Lou Abruzzese was third in the pole vault

“I missed 11’4” by a small margin because I knocked if off with my arm,” said Abruzzese. “I have time to improve and I’ve only been training for this event for little less than a year.”

Sophomore Robert Broomhead finished third in the 5000m run (15:34.07), while senior Will Zimmerman was third in the 400m dash (48.76) and eighth in the 200m dash (22.20). 

Freshman Amy Sura finished third in the 100m hurdles (15.54) and fourth in the 400m hurdles (1:10.29). Freshman Giovanni Ramos finished fourth in the 400m hurdles (54.24) and fifth in the 110m hurdles (15.71).

“I was pretty happy with my performance but I didn’t reach my goal,” said Ramos. “I want to run my personal best in the individual events and have a faster time in the relays.”

Junior Tina Gill finished third in the discus (34.50m), fourth in the shot put (11.47m) and eighth in the hammer throw (34.53m). Olushola Ijalana finished third in the hammer throw (46.14m), sixth in the shot put (13.78m) and 14th in the discus (27.74m).   

Sophomore Jay Kubitsky finished fourth in the long jump (6.12m) and sixth in the javelin (47.11m). Freshman Joseph Hallowell finished sixth in the high jump (6-00.00), eighth in the triple jump (10.93m) and 16th in the 400m dash (52.70).

The Broncs will be at the Princeton Invitational this weekend, competing on Friday and Saturday.

“It’s a fast track with high caliber athletes and good competition,” said DeJong, who also finished sixth in the 800m. “It’s an individual weekend since there is no team scoring. It’s a place to run fast and qualify.

“I’m hoping to get nine minutes flat and get invited to Penn Relays,” he said. “I’ll have three weeks to prepare so I have to run fast.”