We are in the middle of track season as the Golden Rams look to continue to reach the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships and take the title back to West Chester University. The Golden Rams look to continue to hold on to their momentum from their last meet, as they placed very well, and look to do the same this week. The Golden Rams are coming off of a great meet placing in at least fourth and above in every single event, and look to do the same for the rest of the season. Many of the Rams have qualified to enter in the PSAC championships, and look forward to these next meets to break record and perfect their craft.
Starting off with the men’s track team from the meet on April 5 at the 34th Millersville Metrics Saturday afternoon, Greg Raudenbush (Schuylkill Haven, Pa./Blue Mountain) set a school record in the hammer throw. West Chester landed three first-place winners to lead the Golden Rams to the team title.
Moving on to the the 4x800m relay team of Jim McDaid, Josh Coakley, Nick Angelina and Colin McClusick placed first with a final time of 8:16.06. Overall, West Chester finished first as a team with 106.50 total points. Mark Van Teyens took first place in the 110m hurdles to qualify for the PSAC Championship event in May. Andrew Dombrowiecki took home a first-place finish with his time of 33 minutes, 31.67 seconds in the 10,000m run. The Golden Rams also had Raudenbush set a school record finishing in fourth place in the hammer throw with a final distance of 166” 4’. Bryce Sadler added a sixth place in the shot put with a distance of 44” 8 ¾’ to also be qualified for the PSAC’s next month. West Chester finished in fifth place in the 4x400m relay with a final time of 3:34.93. The team consisted of Shawn Young, Van Teyens, Heimbach, and Austin Shank. The men’s team had a very strong showing in all events and look to carry that momentum toward the road of the PSAC Championships.
The Lady Rams were not far away from the men’s team, as they also saw a lot of success during the meet. West Chester landed four first-place winners to lead the Golden Rams to a runner-up showing. Taylor Pugh led the way ending up fifth in school history with a leap of 11.30m for a first-place finish in the triple jump. Alie Smith also took home a first-place finish in the 10,000m run to crack the Top 10 in school history with a final time of 40 minutes, 11.36 seconds. Also, Amanda Kodis took fifth in the steeplechase to qualify for the PSAC Championships in May while setting a mark of 12:01.67 for sixth on the all-time WCU list.
Some more important stats about this meet were that the Golden Rams did well in the relays with the 4x400m team in Dara Lindsey, Caroline McLaughlin, Janna Wilson and Emily Magnant, and the 4x800m relay team of Bridget Walt, Kodis, Tina Lee and Emily Dusellier for two first-place finishes in the relay events. The 4x100m team of Taylor, Wilson, Magnant, and Lindsey grabbed a mark of 48.63 seconds to finish in the Top-10 in WCU school history. Magnant finished in fifth place with a final time of 12.85 seconds to qualify for PSAC’s. Taylor qualified in the 200m, taking a time of 26.03. McLaughlin also qualified in the 200m as well. Christine Johnson threw a distance of 36.46” in the discus and qualified for the hammer in return. Wilson’s second-place time in the 400m dash was 58.96 seconds. In the 800m run, Dusellier finished in fourth place at a time of 2:20.98.
The Golden Rams look to continue on the road toward the PSAC championships as we switch gears and get ready for outdoor meets. We look forward to the rest of the season and wish them the best of luck down the road.
Marcelus Council-Jones is a fourth-year student. Contact them at MC785844@wcupa.edu