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Track & Field Finishes Strong at 2012 Atlantic 10 Indoor Championship
Feb. 18, 2012 Day Two Results | Atlantic 10 Interview with Fordham's Fajoyomi after winning the high jump event Kingston, R.I. - The 2012 Atlantic 10 Indoor Track & Field Championship has come to a close with the Rhode Island men's team and Charlotte women's team capturing the team titles. Fordham's men's team tied their best-ever finish at the Championship in third place, scoring 91.5 points (the team's best total at A-10's), while the women's team took ninth with 33.5 points. "The team did a great job all day long. They knew what they had to, and did a tremendous job," said Fordham head coach Tom Dewey following the Championship. "The men were right there in the end, we got great performances from our seniors (Kevin) Fitzgerald and (Kelly) Connolly, and even minus Kerri Gallagher's 20 points from last year, the women dug deep and scored better this year than last year. Overall it was a great day." In the men's competition, Rhode Island won the team competition with a score of 186.5, followed by Charlotte in second with 165.5 points. Fordham finished third, followed by Temple (82.5), La Salle (78), Saint Joseph's (65), Xavier (48), Massachusetts (36), Richmond (17) and Saint Louis (9). Fordham's third place finish was highlighted by three event wins in the 1,000 meters, high jump, and 4x800 relay, as well as a school record performance in the men's heptathlon. In the 1,000 meters, senior Kevin Fitzgerald earned Atlantic 10 Champion honors, placing first in a season-best time of 2:26.96, while teammate Ryan Polo also scored in fourth place (2:28.88). The high jump saw sophomore David Fajoyomi win the Atlantic 10 title for Fordham, clearing 6' 10 ¼", while the 4x800 relay made it a four-peat, as Fitzgerald, Polo, John Cosgrove, and Daniel Green, won the event for the fourth consecutive year with a season-best time of 7:38.31.
Sophomore Sam Houston placed third overall in the heptathlon with a school record score of 5,018 points, breaking Dan Tucker's 2006 record of 4,835 points. Houston ended the competition by placing fourth in the 60 meter hurdles (8.85 - career-best), tying for sixth in the pole vault (11' 7 ¾"), and taking second in the 1,000 meters (2:41.10 - career-best). Juniors Sean Atkinson and Julian Saad joined Fitzgerald, Fajoyomi, and the 4x800 relay team on the All-Conference team, as each placed second in their respective events. Atkinson was second in the 500 meters in 1:03.94, while Saad was second in the 3,000 meters in 8:24.43. Nick Delligatti also scored with Atkinson in the 500 meters, placing sixth in 1:06.04. Fordham also scored in five other events on day two. osgrove placed third in the 800 meters in 1:55.59, while Sean Collins was sixth in the 60 meter hurdles in 8.50 seconds. Kevin Harvey scored in the mile event with a sixth-place finish in 4:20.57, followed by freshman Austin Ruiz taking fifth in the shot put with a season-best mark of 47' 11 ¾". The men's 4x400 relay of Collins, Delligatti, Michael Rossi, and Atkinson was the final scorer for the Rams, placing fourth in 3:18.89.
The Fordham women, who improved their scoring total from a year ago, scored in five events on day two led by the duo of Titi Fagade and Kelly Connolly in the 500 meter event. Fagade earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors by placing second in 1:15.30, while Connolly was fifth in the event in 1:17.07. Junior Courtnay Newman just missed joined the All-Conference team, as she tied for third in the high jump, clearing 5' 5".
The Fordham track & field team will next be in action on Friday, February 24th, as the Rams compete at the Last Chance Invitational, which will be held at the Armory Track & Field Center, beginning at 5:00 PM. First Team All-Atlantic 10 Second Team All-Atlantic 10 School Records Broken |
