This weekend on December 6 and 7, the women’s and men’s track and field teams traveled to Bethlehem, PA, and Reading, PA, to race in Lehigh University’s Fast Times Before Finals meet and Alvernia College’s Winter Meet. Both teams started their weekend at Lehigh on the six and finished it off on the 7 with a meet at Lehigh and a meet at Alvernia.
The Ducks went up against competitors from Widener, Stockton, and Lehigh on Friday. There were three runners from the women’s team: sophomores Maya Lapinski and Isabella Shanley and junior Stephanie Ryazanova. Shanley competed in five events and took fifth place overall, followed by Ryazanova, who took sixth, and Lapinski, who took seventh. The men’s team went up against Kutztown, Stockton, and Lehigh. Juniors James Johnson and Brandon Kiefer and first-year Connor Efinger ran for the men’s team. Kiefer settled in third place after four events, with Johnson in eighth and Efinger in ninth.
The next day of the meet was successful for the women, as highlighted by junior Maggie Previglian, who won the high jump and long jump. Also placed alongside her were seniors Caroline Tighe, landing third in the 60-meter hurdles, and Ella Santoro, placing second and sixth in the long jump and high jump, respectively. Juniors Isabella Vogel came second in the 400 m, and Lauren Alley, who just had a successful season with the women’s soccer team, came second in the 60 hurdles. Sophomore Anacarolina Ventura took fourth in the weight throw, followed by junior Michelle Elias Flores at ninth, and sophomores Claire Deatrick and Josephine Lulaj, sophomore Breona Pizzuta, and first-year Sarah Lovelsmith.
The men’s team recorded MAC Indoor Championships qualifying marks, with first-year Enrico Parrella landing first in the mile in his first time competing. Following him in the mile were first-years Kevin Medrow, Matthew Hodorowski, and Cillian Griffin in third, fourth, and seventh, respectively. First-years Ethan Stallone, William Ladd, and Joseph Perriello landed the top three spots in the 60 hurdles, with Ladd also taking third in the high jump. Reaching 12.29m in the triple jump and 5.96m in the long jump, sophomore Justin Gajewski made it to the MAC and took first in the triple jump and third in the long jump. Following him in the long jump was Perriello in fifth. There were five Ducks that ended in the top eight of the weight throw: sophomores Aidan Greene and Gabriel Kovach, senior Brandon Fox, and juniors Cooper Kinsley and Emmanuel Vega, with Fox, Kinsley, and Vega all scoring qualifying marks. On the track, junior Kyle Savino got a second-place time, sophomore Tyler Hackett grabbed third in the 200 and fourth in the 60, while sophomore Douglas Winant landed third in the 60. Seven Ducks competed in the pole vault, with senior Andrew Ananthrajah finishing in sixth overall above the other Ducks. Also competing in the pole vault were first-years Michael Dao and David Huang, junior Kyle Miller, seniors Braedan Joyce and Cullen Grady, and sophomore Christopher Persico.
The Ducks closed out their successful weekend and will be seen running again after the break. On Saturday, January 18, both the men’s and women’s teams will be back in PA running at the 2025 Moravian Indoor Meet.
