The West Chester track and field teams competed at the Danny Curran Invitational April 1 and 2 at Widener University to warm-up for their next big home meet, the West Chester Invitational which took place on April 8 and 9. Once again, Leighon Johnson set the standards high with three first place finishes. Johnson won the 100-meter and the 200-meter, completing the races in 10.88 and 21.85, respectively. Johnson also assisted in the 4×100 relay first place win alongside teammates, Adam Heath, Eric Atkins and Anthony Jackson, completing the race in 43.77.
Tyler Real won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.98 and also came in fifth place in the 400-meter hurdles (58.36).
Teammate, Ryan Carli finished fourth in the 110-meter hurdles behind Real (16.00) and placed third in the 400-meter hurdles (57.57). Matt Langdale won the 1500-meter race with a time of 4:05.05 and placed third in the 800-meter (1:56.83).
Heath received first place in the triple jump, leaping 42-8 _ inches. He also placed fourth in the long jump (20-9 _).
Tim Thiry was runner-up in the 400-meter, finishing the race in 50.94, while Craig Espenshade came in right behind Thiry, placing third (51.50).
William Breiner placed sixth in the shot put, throwing 37 – 3 _. Brian Pellechia came in sixth as well in both the hammer throw (142-05) and the javelin (168-11).
The men’s 4×100 wasn’t the only relay to receive first place. The women’s 4×100 and 4×400 came in first at the Danny Curran Invitational. Melanie Ruff, Melinda Wentz, Sam Smarkola and Nicole Smith made up the winning relay teams. They finished the 4×100 in 49.04 and the 4×400 in 4:01.01.
Ruff also placed first in the 100-meter and the 200-meter. Ruff completed the 100-meter in 12.53, while crossing the finish line in 23.32 for the 200-meter. Smarkola and Smith placed sixth and seventh, respectively, in the 200-meter.
Nicole Smith received second place in the 400-meter, completing the race in 58.32. Teammate, Wentz placed third in the 100-meter hurdles (15.59). Brigid Gallagher finished in eighth place in the 100-meter hurdles behind Wentz.
“As a team, we know [winning] is capable of happening from all the hard work we put in every practice, learning from mistakes, practicing till we get it right, and having a great coach guide our team to having outstanding performances this season, and many more to come,” Smith said.
Lyndsey Ratasiewicz came in third the 800-meter (2:22.21) and finished in second place in the 1500-meter (4:46.72). Kaitlin Carpenter took eighth in the 5000-meter, finishing the race in 19:07.87.
Kamber Schrann came in fourth in the pole vault, clearing 9-6 ¬ inches. Brittany Foye finished second in the triple jump (35-6 ¬), while Dana Dietrich followed close behind, leaping 35-0 ¬. Mackenzie Lauro came in fifth place behind Foye and Dietrich.
Lauro also competed in the long jump, leaping 15-9 inches. Teammate, Wentz came in fifth in the high jump (4-9 _). Nicole Reaves and Miriam Hughes placed eighth and ninth in the long jump, respectively.
The Golden Rams are off to a good start so far this outdoor season. They competed in their next home meet April 8 and 9 at John A. Farrell Stadium. Both teams have high hopes for the rest of the season, as they are improving more and more each week.
The West Chester Invitational took place on Friday afternoon. The runners had to deal with heavy downpours all afternoon. After the first day, West Chester had a couple first and second place finishes.
Sean Sebeck came in second in the 5000-meter finishing in 16:01.18. Ed Brittingham finished right behind him with a time of 16:05.13.
On the field, Heath placed second in the triple jump after jumping 41-1 inches. Pellechia and Breiner were second and third in the hammer throw with throws of 129-11 and 113-10, respectively.
The women’s side took home another couple of first place wins. Wentz won the heptathlon after earning 2,483 points.
Dietrich earned first place honors in the triple jump after leaping 33-7 inches. Three other West Chester jumpers placed in the triple jump behind Dietrich. Lauro just barely missed first place with a jump of 33-7 ¬. Reaves came in third (31-8 _) while Aimee Stitch finished fourth (31-6 _).
Kristina Koutsouros also had a good first day for the Rams and was the runner up in the 5000-meter (18:42.99).
The West Chester Invitational finished up on Saturday afternoon and did not finish in time to make it into this week’s issue of The Quad.
Jillian Morgan is a fourth-year student majoring in communication studies. She can be reached at JM652349@wcupa.edu.