Fordham men’s and women’s track raced at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational in Boston, Massachusetts, on Friday, Feb. 14, and Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Boston University (BU) Track and Tennis Center. In the competition that hosted more than 20 schools from across the northeast, the highest individual scores the Rams achieved over the two day meet were fifth and sixth place for the women’s and men’s teams respectively. There were no team scores at the event.

While the Rams’ results only boasted a handful of top 10 finishes, the team’s top scorers finished consistently and took home a few season best times, one personal best and quite a few Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and IC4A Division I Championship qualifying times.

Freshmen Women Take Top Times

The women’s team took to the track first on Friday. Kathryn Kelly, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’21, was the team’s highest scorer with two top-10 performances. Kelly placed fifth in the 60-meter dash in a time of 7.76 seconds, and ninth in the long jump with a jump of 18 feet, 2.5 inches.

Freshman Alexandra Thomas, FCRH ’23, had the team’s second best finish of the day. She crossed the tape in 9 minutes, 54 seconds in the 3,000-meter run to finish 14th overall and qualify for the ECAC Championship.

Thomas’ fellow freshmen boasted some impressive finishes as well. Radha Dooley, FCRH ’23, also competed well for the Rams on Friday with a 16th place finish in the high jump at 5 feet, 3 inches, her season best. Kyla Hill, FCRH ’23, finished 65th in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.54 seconds.

The women’s team only saw one other athlete place under three digits on Friday. Dominique Valentine, FCRH ’22, took 36th place overall in the 500-meter run in a time of 1 minute, 19 seconds.

The women’s team finished their competition on Saturday with the distance medley relay. The team of four, Sydney Snow, FCRH ’20; Dominique Valentine, FCRH ’22; Helen Connolly, FCRH ’22; and Bridget Alex, FCRH ’22, placed 12th overall in a season best time of 12 minutes, 9 seconds.

Six Men to IC4A Championship

The men’s top finisher at the invitational on Saturday was Nikolas Reardon, Gabelli School of Business at Rose Hill (GSBRH) ’21, who cleared 6 feet, 6.75 inches in the high jump to take fourth place. In the long jump he placed 12th at 12 feet, 9.5 inches.

Colin Flood, FCRH ’23, was the men’s top finisher on the track, taking sixth place in the 3,000-meter run in a time of 8 minutes, 33 seconds.

The men’s team topped the women in double digit finishers and championship qualifiers.

The first IC4A Championship qualifier for the men was Antony Misko, FCRH ’21, who finished the 400-meter dash in 48.89 seconds to take 27th place.

Jeremiah LaDuca, FCRH ’22, and Christopher Strzelinski, FCRH ’21, both finished the 800-meter run in 1 minute, 53 seconds, good for 41st and 46th place, respectively. The times were also fast enough to qualify them for the IC4A Championship. Teammate Zalen Nelson, FCRH ’22, finished in 1 minute, 54 seconds to take 78th place.

The next IC4A qualifier was Will Whelan, FCRH ’21, who crossed the line in 2 minutes, 28 seconds for 32nd place in the 1,000-meter run.

Two Rams qualified for the IC4A Championship in the 3,000-meter race. Nicholas Raefski, Gabelli Graduate School of Business at Rose Hill ’20, clocked a personal best of 8 minutes, 15 seconds for 68th place followed by Brandon Hall, GSBRH ’22, in 8 minutes, 27 seconds for 130th.

The Rams’ efforts at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational were not extraordinary, but rewarding in that many will have the opportunity to race at the ECAC and IC4A Championships on March 7 and 8. Until then, catch them at the Armory College Last Chance Meet on Friday, Feb. 21 or the Atlantic 10 Championship on Feb. 29 and March 1.