Elizabethtown College had several impressive performances at the Track and Field Washington & Lee-VMI Carnival Friday and Saturday. Going into the meet, senior Jenna Niedermayer said, “I just want to compete well and see where I stand as of now.” Niedermayer fulfilled those expectations when she beat her personal outdoor record and the school record with her high jump of 5’3-3/4” (1.62m), which placed her third in the event.
For the men’s team, junior Stephen Welsh was the top finisher of the weekend for the Jays. He clocked in at 32:15.87 in the 10,000-meter run, coming in second. Senior Cameron Aregood took third-place in javelin with his best throw, measuring 194’1” (59.17m). He also placed in high jump. His jump of 6’2-1/4” (1.89m) landed him a seventh-place. Two other Blue Jays, senior Luke Rotenberger and junior Kevin Brady, got seventh in their respective events. Rotenberger ran 57.65 in the 400-hurdles and Brady’s best vault was 14’5-1/4” (4.40m). Junior Brian Layng earned 5,771 points in the decathlon, taking third-place. Junior Lucas Dayhoff started his outdoor season off right with a fourth-place finish in the hammer. His throw measured at 156’10” (47.80m).
“Challenges going from indoor to outdoor are getting used to competing in the elements. Warm-ups take longer due to early season wind and cold temperatures,” Head Coach Joel Hoffsmith said. However, the Blue Jays didn’t seem to be phased by the elements this weekend.
Some outstanding performances on the women’s team were by sophomore Casey Meier and junior Traci Tempone. Meier had a school-record throw of 121’1” (36.90m) in the javelin, taking fourth overall. Tempone has the second-fastest time currently posted in the nation for the 10,000-meter run. She took first in that event with a time of 36:17.30.
The Washington and Lee-VMI Carnival is a long meet and it can be hard to keep spirits up. “When you’re raspy the next day, you know you’ve been making an impression. Team morale is really important with long meets like this, which is spread out over two days. I try to stay positive, ask people individually how they’re feeling, talk to them if they’re in need and encourage team cheering for all the events and races,” Niedermayer said.
The cheering of Niedermayer and other teammates helped some of the first-year Jays excel. First-year Rachel Carr placed second in the 800m with a time of 2:19.58. Carr’s time put her fifth on the school’s outdoor top ten list. First-year Diarra Molock placed on Etown’s top ten list in the three events this weekend, the most of any Blue Jay. At Washington and Lee, she placed seventh in the shot put at 34’6-3-4” (10.53m), eighth in the hammer at 95’10” (29.20m) and tenth in the discus at 89’4” (27.23m).
Two first-years, Lindsey Pekurny and Alyssa Aichele, had top ten finishes in the 400m dash. Pekurny was ninth at 1:03.04 and Aichele was tenth with a time of 1:03.31. Pekurny also helped senior Pam Jaraczewski, junior Jackie Zylka and Niedermayer get seventh in the 4×100 relay finishing in 4:11.16.
For the men’s team, first-years Matt Shenk and Zach Trama each took away fourth place finishes. Shenk had the fastest 5000m run time by a first-year in Etown’s history at 14:56.82. Trama competed in the 3000m steeplechase, getting a time of 9:55.54. First-year Ryan Conway also placed in the 3000m steeplechase, earning tenth place with a time of 10:23.79.
The first-years proved that even though they may not have as much experience as the upperclassmen, they are still great assets to the team. “Etown track and field is poised for a terrific outdoor season,” Hoffsmith said.
Etown next hosted Dickinson College, York College and Lebanon Valley College in the Capital Area Classic. This meet was the only home meet for the Blue Jays this year.
Overall, the women’s team took first place, while the men’s team came in second to Lebanon Valley. Top Etown finishers included both the men’s and women’s 4×400 relay teams as well as the 4×800 relay teams. Aregood, with a jump of 6’0”, placed first in the men’s high jump, while junior Monica Loranger placed first in the women’s event, with a jump of 4’11.75”. Aregood also set a new facility record in the javelin, throwing 205’7-1/2”.