On Saturday, March 19, the men and women’s track and field teams competed against an array of athletes at John A. Farrell Stadium. The Rams had the weather on their side as well as their skills in order as they competed at their first outdoor meet of the season. The Rams came out of their indoor season strong. The seniors really showed the underclassmen how hard work and dedication pays off. Senior Leighon Johnson took home three first place finishes on Saturday: in the long jump, 4×100 and 4×400. Leighon associates his successes with new head coach, Mike Murawski.
“To train this year, Coach Mike has thrown some hard workouts at us and we have gotten some good results so far. His method is obviously working as many freshmen, to hopefully get them to qualify individually [for their goal, PSAC’s] and a lot of PR’s have been set [in the indoor season]. We’re looking to better all those times and distances.”
Johnson stole the gold in the long jump, clearing 21 – 8 ¬ inches. He ran the 4×100 relay in 43.84, with teammates Nick Drozd, Josh Bacon and Eric Atkins. The 4×400 relay team completed the race in 3:29.53. The members of the 4×400 are Drozd, Craig Espenshade, Johnson and Tim Thiry. Johnson also placed third in the 100-meter (11.09).
Adam Heath placed first in the triple jump, clearing 41 – 4 _ inches. Sean Devolites placed fourth in the high jump, leaping 5 – 8 _. Teammate, Brian Pellechia got third place in the discus (136-00) and William Breiner threw the javelin 164-09, giving him second place.
Matt Langdale finished third in two of his events: the 800-meter and the 1,500-meter, finishing in 1:57.77 and 4:06.03, consecutively. Thiry placed fourth in the 400-meter (51.00), followed by teammate, Heath (51.07) and Drozd (51.45).
Tyler Real, Ryan Karli and Sean Sebeck all took home second place wins on Saturday. Real placed in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.08. Karli completed the 400-meter hurdles in 58.81 and Sebeck took the silver in the 5,000-meter with a time of 15:57.69. Karli also placed fourth in the 110-meter hurdles, behind Real, while Atkins placed fourth in the 400-meter hurdles (1:00.39).
The Lady Rams had a successful day, crowning five individual winners at their first outdoor meet. Mackenzie Lauro placed first in the triple jump, leaping 34 – 7 inches. Lauro also ran alongside teammates, Miriam Hughes, Sam Smarkola and Melanie Ruff to win the 4×100 in 49.99. Melinda Wentz, Smarkola, Lauro and Nicole Smith also won the 4×400, finishing in 4:00.46. Lauro also placed sixth in the long jump, clearing 15 – 10 .
Ruff got second place in the 100-meter (12.42) and teammate Lyndsey Ratasiewicz placed first in the 3,000-meter with a time of 10:34.03. Kristina Koutsouros placed behind Ratasiewicz, finishing the race in 10:39.98. Ratasiewicz placed second in the 1,500-meter (4:55.65), as well.
Kim McManus placed sixth in the 1,500-meter (5:07.34) and finished fourth in the 800-meter (2:30.22). Melinda Wentz placed third in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.67. Also, Wentz took home fourth place in the long jump, clearing 16 – 1 . Teammate, Lindsey Nygren placed second in the 400-meter hurdles (1:08.44).
Kamber Schrann finished second in the pole vault, clearing 10 – 6. Katie McAndrews and Cherae McWilliams both received fourth place behind Schrann.
The senior athletes stepped into the spotlight on Saturday. Hopefully they continue to do so throughout the season, as well as prepare the underclassmen for the pressures of the upcoming meets. The Golden Rams will compete again at their next meet on April 1 and 2 at the Danny Curran Invitational at Widener University.
Jillian Morgan is a fourth-year student majoring in communication studies. She can be reached at JM652349@wcupa.edu.