Tigers finish third at Delaware
By: Jordan Cope, Staff Writer
Towson finished third in the Delaware Open on Saturday at Stuart and Suzanne Grant Stadium in Newark, Delaware.
Towson finished with a total of 169.33 points behind second-place Stockton (173), and first-place Colonial Athletic Association rival and host Delaware (197.66) in the 14-team field.
“We had a fairly good meet, there were some good performances,” Head Coach Roger Erricker said. “We shuffled it up a little bit and we changed some people around and did some things just to be a little different.”
Senior hurdler Emily Wenger won the 400-meter dash, an event that the captain normally doesn’t compete in, with a time of 58.73.
Senior distance runner Elisabeth Tauber also earned a first-place finish in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 18 minutes, 39.10 seconds, while senior distance runner Ashley Simmons finished right behind with a time of 18:56.72.
“I felt really strong today. I’ve been disappointed with my races lately but I’ve been having some really good workouts,” Tauber said. “Today was the last 5,000-meter run of my collegiate career so I left it all out on the track.”
Sophomore pole vaulter Courtney Rose won the pole vault event with a height of 11 feet, 3 inches, while junior pole vaulter Maggie Rampolla came in third place with a height of 10’8.75.”
“Courtney Rose had a good meet,” Rampolla said. “We had rain during practice on Thursday but were able to get some jumps in. She pushes through weather and everything. She has a great attitude.”
Junior Wilhelmina Austin finished first in the triple jump event with a height of 36’11.50.”
Sophomore sprinter Zanae Freeland finished in second place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.93, while junior sprinter and hurdler Kaitlyn Davis placed fourth with a time of 12.01, and junior sprinter Kelsey Fiddes placed fifth with a time of 12.11.
“[Freeland] comes to practice and works extremely hard. Ever since pre-season I knew she was going to be one of the top athletes in our conference,” junior Katelynn Williams said. “She deserves everything she is accomplishing.”
In the 200-meter dash, Davis earned came in second in 25.14, while Freeland came in third place with a time of 25.28, and Wenger came in fifth place with a time of 25.75.
Senior middle distance runner and Towerlight contributor Kara Bucaro earned a finished third in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:24.36.
“A lot of girls had great performances with yet again horrible conditions. The wind was intense again, but most girls pushed through it,” Simmons said. “I am so proud of my teammates.”
In the 3,000-meter run, freshman distance runner Colleen Cook finished in fifth place with a time of 11:32.58.
The Tigers relay team finished in third place in the 4×100-meter relay with a time of 48.69 and got the same result in the 4×400-meter relay with a time of 4:11.02.
“It was definitely some tough competition. There were people there that made nationals,” Williams said. “But we hung in there.”
In the field events, junior high jumper Emerald Vickers, junior multi-event performer Ashleigh Stallings, and freshman thrower Taylor Weiss all earned second-place finishes in events in the meet.
Vickers finished the high jump with a height of 5’3,” Stallings’ shot put distance was 41.5’.75,” and Weiss came in second with a discuss throw of 131’9.”
“We got a chance to see Elon last week, and we got a chance to see Delaware today,” Erricker said. “So it’s good because we get to see where we need to be and what we need to improve to try and score as many points as we possibly can at the championship meet.”
Towson’s next meet will be in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, at the Bucknell Team Challenge on April 18.
“It is going to be a tough and competitive meet,” Williams said. “However, as long as we go there with a winning mindset and compete how we’ve been doing, then it will go really well.”