By EMERALD WRIGHT-COLLIE
Staff Writer
[email protected]
The Allegheny Track and Field team competed at the Bucknell Outdoor Classic in Lewisburg, Pa this past weekend. Senior Bobby Over added to his Allegheny legacy as he broke yet another record with his 3000 meter dash time.
“I am always excited for the level of competition our athletes will face at the Bucknell Bison meet,” said Head Coach Brent Wilkerson.
The men’s distance runners had a strong showing this weekend, highlighted by Over’s race in which he broke a personal and school record with a final time of 9:01.40, two seconds faster than his previous best. His time was the second fastest posted in Division III yet this year.
“The meet at Bucknell was a great step for myself and the team this past weekend.” said Over.
The Gators performed well across the board as multiple runners and throwers broke personal records. Logan Steiner, ’16, broke a personal record for distance with his time of 14:35.96 in the 5000 meter run. He finished twenty seconds faster than his previous efforts and his time was good for eighth overall.
The 5k event saw two Allegheny runners put up career times as senior Jack Denison finished in 14:58.76 while Dan Cheung, ’17, finished in 15:12.48. The 1500 meter run was a highlight of the day for Allegheny distance runners, with four Gators setting new career marks. Ben Plohr,’16, finished in 3:59.54, Randy Violette,’17, in 4:04.87 and Tom DeAscentis,’14, following right behind with 4:04.88. Lance Claflin , ‘14, finished with a career best at 9:37.08 in the steeplechase.
Plohr stepped up to his 800 meter event, finishing in a time of 1:54.40. Cathal Chaffe, ’16, followed right behind Plohr with a personal record 1:58.18.
For the women’s team, S.J. Guillaume,’17, posted a personal record, finishing the 800 meter event with a time of 2:22.55. Fellow rookie Meghan Veglia paced Guillaume with a time of 2:24.42.
The Gators continued their improvement in the short distance races as Nelson Hansen ran a time of 41.24 in the 400 with Mack Price coming through with a personal record of 51.63. Hansen also stepped up to the 200 meter event finishing in a time of 23:33.
The Gator throwers continued the trend of success as Junior Michael Petro finished fifth overall and first among Division three athletes with his hammer throw of 51.53 meters. His throw was the third longest in team history.
The women’s team had a strong showing in Lewisburg as well, setting marks in nearly all events. For the distance runners Kristina Martin, ’14, set a new personal best, finishing her 5000 meter race in 17:41.10. Andy Sharfman,’15, then beat her previous record and finished with time of 18:30.18.
For the sprinters, Senior Sarah Moss led the Gators in the 400 meter dash and finished with a time of 1:00.60, a career best. Rookie Noelle Lemons ran both the 100 and 200 finishing her two races in 13.07 (100) and 27.45 (200).
“It was great to see so many Personal Record’s early in the season,” said Alexis Preston, ’14.
Lexi Mochan, ’15, threw a total 49.70 meters in the hammer throw, which was good for first among the Division III athletes and third overall at the meet. Tova Feinberg set a personal record of 44.64 meters in the hammer as well.
Jenna Farruggia, ’17, completed a career best in the javelin with a toss of 39 meters for eighth overall. Fellow rookie Natasha Brigham took tenth place with a throw of 38.06 meters. Farrugia finished her strong day in the discus, ending with another PR of 37.04 meters. The first years continued to make their mark as Aubri Caslin,’17, threw her career best in shot put with 11.30 meters.
According to Coach Wilkerson, the meet at Bucknell has provided the team with a renewed sense of confidence heading forward.
“Our student’s definitely rose to the occasion this year with many season and lifetime bests,” said Coach Wilkerson. “If we compete at NCAC’s the way we did at Bucknell our team should increase it’s standing in the conference.”
The Gators will next participate in the Sparky Adams Invitational this Saturday, hosted by Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, Ohio.
