ELEVEN TEAMS COMPETED at Rensselaer this past weekend, and the Engineers defeated every team.Both the Rensselaer men’s and women’s track and field teams defeated the ten schools invited to compete at Harkness Track and Field on Saturday in the Engineers’ first home meet of the outdoor season. Eight events were won by the women, who compiled 227.5 points, while the men won 11 events to earn 314 points.
Winning one individual event, sophomore Dainara Veeder also finished runner up 100 meter hurdles in 16.06 seconds. She won the 400 meter hurdles in 1:10.51 and ran the third leg of the second place 4×100 meter relay team. Junior Monica Mazur, senior Haley Hahn, and sophomore Vera Titze ran the first, second, and fourth legs of the relay, finishing in 50.16 seconds.
In the women’s 4×400 meter relay, Titze ran the anchor leg to help the Engineers place first in the event with a time of 4:07.02. She was joined by senior Sabrina Ahamparam, junior Caroline Howes, and sophomore Caitlyn Gardner. Hahn and Mazur went on to finish second in the long jump and third in the triple jump respectively.
In the high jump, sophomores Jillian Salkind and Lauren Parker marked the first and second greatest distances, while senior Melinda Wilson and sophomore Marissa Folk went one and two in the discus. Salkind landed at 1.59 meters, while Wilson marked 38.32 meters. Senior Kristen Shaughnessy placed first in the pole vault, reaching 3.05 meters, and sophomore Aurora Freedman won the javelin throw with 35.72 meters.
In distance events, sophomore Maddie Sturm took the 1500 meter race in a time of 4:52.20, outpacing 19 opponents, and crossing first in the 3000 meter steeplechase was senior Maddie Dery in 11:52.5.
Many RPI men’s distance athletes won the distance events at the meet. Freshman Danny Napora won the 3000 meter steeplechase in 9:57.59. Senior Ben Fazio took the 1500 meters in 3:59.97. The 4×400 meter relay team of sophomore Jason Hall, freshman Mike McNicholas, freshman Dino Martinez, and senior Max Drexler defeated the five other teams in their heat to earn the fastest time in the event of 3:23.96.
Freshman Alex Jonson won the 110 meter hurdles in 15.11, while freshman Dale Kelly finished second in the 200 meters in 22.00. In the 400 meter hurdles, freshmen Leighton James and Patrick Butler placed second and third respectively.
In the field, the Engineers championed seven events. Junior Matt Vitagliano won the triple jump, sophomore Joseph Vetere the pole vault, senior Michael Pesanello the hammer throw, and junior Terrence Lawrence the high jump.
Winning the discus throw was senior Sam Keller, who also placed second in the hammer. Freshman George Gonatas won the shot put with a throw of 14.24 meters, and placed second in the discus. Senior Joe Grella took the javelin with a throw of 56.43 meters.
Fast approaching the end of the outdoor season, the Engineers will be competing in the Liberty League Outdoor Championship Meet on Saturday at Vassar College. They will host again the following Saturday for the Capital District Meet.