he Elizabethtown College men’s and women’s outdoor track and field team had a strong showing at the Widener Invitational in Chester, Pa. this past weekend. Both teams came away with a number of podium finishes.
The women finished the day with four team members landing top-three performances. Junior Megan Tursi grabbed the third podium spot in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:55.14. Teammate and first-year Gabrielle Yankelevich also competed in the event, crossing the line at ninth a little over two minutes later.
Sophomore Casey Meier provided the second third-place finish of the day in the field with a javelin throw of 38.89m (127’7″), only two inches from the school record, which she set previously this season. Junior Eileen Kroszner also competed in the even-placing eighth, throwing 31.27m (102’7″).
First-year Rachel Carr picked up a second place finish in the 800-meter run, stepping across the finish line in 2:15:13. Carr knocked four seconds off her personal record (PR) to jump into the third spot on the College’s top-ten list for outdoor track and field. Sophomore Ashley Underkofler and senior Jill Casey competed in the race, both finishing in the top 20 at 2:21.79 and 2:23.23, respectively.
Senior Jenna Niedermayer picked up the Jay’s first and only win of the weekend with a tie in the long jump at 5.51m (18’1″). Niedermayer also competed in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and 4 x 100-meter relay with fellow seniors Ashley Lockwood, Pam Jaraczewski and Katy Fogel.
Niedermayer said of her performance, “I’m pretty proud of myself to be able to do a number of events. I’m happy my body is able to handle all that I put it through, too. This weekend, long jump was my best event. The tie for first was exciting, but breaking 18 feet again was more rewarding.”
Junior Monica Loranger finished just short of the podium twice with fourth place finishes in the pole vault and the high jump. First-year Krysten Dmochowski finished in a tie for seventh in the pole vault with her top mark of 2.65m (8’8-1/4″), jumping to seventh on the College’s top-ten list. Senior and newcomer to the team this year Nadine Yunginger joined the top ten lists as well, with a javelin throw of 28.15m (92’4″) that put her at eighth.
The men’s team also found success that put them on the podium as well as a record-breaking performance.
Junior Lucas Dayhoff broke his own record once again in the hammer. Dayhoff surpassed the record last week at the Messiah Invitational, and with a throw of 49.81m (163’5″) he was able to do it again, picking up the fourth place finish in the process.
Dayhoff commented on breaking his record: “It feels really good to break my school record in the hammer especially, because my technique was not stellar. I need some more time to fine-tune my hammer throw and to throw that far now is a good sign. The team is in high spirits, and I know there have been a number of PRs. I know the throwers are looking strong going into MACs with heavy lifting and training.”
The 4×400-meter relay team of senior Brad Risser, sophomore Bryan Baldwin, senior Luke Rotenberger and first-year Sam Brooks ran a combined total of 3:28.23 to finish third. The Jays’ other podium finisher was senior Cameron Aregood in the javelin. As one of only two athletes to throw over 200 ft, he was able to grab second place with a throw of 61.14m (200’7″). Aregood also competed in the high jump. He finished with a jump of 1.85m (6’0-3/4″).
The Jays head to the 119th Penn Relays April 25 to April 27, followed by the Paul Kaiser Classic held at Shippensburg University April 27, before heading to MAC Outdoor Championships at Lebanon Valley College (LVC). Niedermayer stated, “We are excited for MACs and next week is our last test to see how ready we will be, come that trip to LVC.”
