Members of the Cabrini men’s and women’s track and field teams earned qualifying times to later compete at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship during the Thomson Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 31.
The meet was held at the Delaware Field House, on the University of Delaware’s campus, and included a range of participating DI to DIII teams.
Sophomore Dana Nardello became a new Cabrini record- holder for clocking in at a time of 3:17.25 in the 1000m run.
“I had never run in the 1000m before. My main goal was trying to stay with the pack. Coach taught me how to run in the race and I listened to him. It worked,” Nardello, special education major, said.
Women qualifiers for the 500m run included senior Leslie Williams, clocking in at a time of 1:21.17, and junior Christiana Taylor, who clocked in at a time of 1:21.09.
Taylor also qualified for the 200m dash, along with freshman Shakeya Singleton-Ladson.
Of the women’s overall performance, Nardello said, “We did pretty well. We had a hard training week, which helped us earn great times. We did better than we all thought.”
On the men’s side, sophomore Eddie Penetar qualified for the 3000m run and freshman Anthony Girolamo qualified for the 1000m run.
Both earned first place in their respected races with Penetar clocking in at a time of 8:44.22 and Girolamo clocking in at a time of 2:39.16.
“I thought I did well for an early season race. Hopefully I improve and place top three [at the ECACs],” Penetar, psychology major, said, “Overall, it was a good day for Cabrini, especially for our female sprinters.”
“We ran well, but we need to work more at practice,” Christopher Cantagnus, sophomore pre-med major, said.
The ECAC Championship is scheduled to take place March 6-7 in Medford, Mass.
Head coach of the Cabrini track and field team James Williams is optimistic about the team’s prospects.
“Right now we have more qualified than we have ever had,” Williams said. Of the Thomson Invitational, Williams said, “I was very satisfied.”
Cabrini’s track and field teams compete next at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in New York City.
The meet is scheduled for the weekend of Friday, Feb. 6.