Indoor

Indoor track meets

Multiple Blue Hens Claim Spots on the All-Time Indoor Performance List to Start the Winter Track Season.

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The weather getting colder means the indoor season is here. The UD Club XCTF team made its winter track debut on Saturday, December 9th at the Susquehanna Early Season Invite hosted by Susquehanna Univeristy.

The women’s long jump initiated the season and didn’t disappoint. Sophomore Lianna Greenstein extended her collegiate career, surpassing her indoor record on the performance list. She achieved a new personal best of 4.57m, securing 12th place overall and maintaining her position at the top of the indoor LJ performance list. Greenstein continued her remarkable success by breaking her previous triple jump record with each of her three jumps, securing fourth place against strong competition. Each jump set a new all-time best, raising her indoor performance to 10.66m, maintaining her top spot on the TJ performance list.

Our men’s jumpers began their season with senior Andy Spillane nearing his indoor personal best of 5.77m, securing a top-20 placement overall. Following his performance was senior Josiah Taylor (4.56) and junior Gavin Looram (4.28) making strong starts to their indoor seasons.

The track events began with our men’s and women’s spring medley relay. The men’s team, comprising sophomore Kurt Krummenacker (400m), senior Shane Isacson (200m), senior Andy Spillane (200m), and freshman Skylar Grey (800m), finished in 4:02.06, a thrilling start to the track races. The women’s SMR team, led by junior Eli Manning (400m), sophomore Grace Wertheimer (200m), senior Sam Radinsky (200m), and senior distance captain Aine Grubb (800m), finished in 5:19.9.

While some distance runners are recovering from the cross country season, notable performances were witnessed in both men’s and women’s mile events. Sophomore Evan Diefenbeck debuted on the track, securing 12th place overall with a 4:41 mile, setting the stage for a promising season. Freshman Ryan Healy made his collegiate debut, breaking the 5-minute barrier with a time of 4:59.7, securing a top-20 position. In the men’s 3k, Diefenbeck claimed 4th place with an impressive time of 9:17.6, while Jack Pelczar ran a 9:55.9, breaking the 10-minute mark for the first time. The men’s distance squad wrapped up with the 800m race, where Josh Pawlik (2:09.9) placed 9th and Evan Pawlik (2:13.26) followed closely, securing a top-15 spot .

The women’s distance team showcased star performances that secured spots on the all-time indoor performance list. Freshman Ella Malletta impressed with a 5:36.8 mile, claiming 8th place overall and 6th on the indoor performance list in her collegiate indoor debut. Graduate student Robin Collura (5:55.4) finished under the 6-minute mark and started her season strongly. Maletta and Collura continued to dominate in the 800-meter race as well. In the 800 meter race Maletta’s 2:29.5 landed her third on the indoor performance list, and an 8th place overall finish. Collura claimed the 20th spot overall with her time of 2:40.7 and added another impressive race to her collegiate career.

Our sprinters were eager for their first chance to compete this season and did not disappoint. Sophomores Rilee McMahon (8.84) and Kurt Krummenacker (7.54) secured top-40 positions in the men’s and women’s 60-meter races. Freshman Layla Rushing claimed 8th place on the indoor performance list with a 400-meter time of 1:11.6 in her collegiate debut. Rushing also competed in the 60-meter hurdle dash, securing a time of 11.45, which placed her third on the indoor performance list. Senior Sam Radinsky maintained her 7th place on the performance list, enhancing her time to 30.58 in the 200m race. On the men’s side, freshman James Jeffers placed top 30 in both the 200m and 400m races with times of 24.42 and 54.96, respectively.

The meet concluded with our men’s and women’s 4×400 meter relays. Delaware’s men, featuring Spencer Wheeler, Cole Donnelly, Sean Simonini, and anchored by Ian Levine, finished in 4:12.15. The women’s squad, comprising Robin Collura, Eli Manning, Grace Wertheimer, and Aine Grubb, finished in 4:53.7 claiming the 5th spot on the performance list and capping off an exciting season opener.

With an exciting first meet of the Indoor season, Delaware is gearing up for the next meet on January 20th, at the Collegeville Invitational hosted by Ursinus College in Collegeville, PA.

Sam Radinsky working hard at the end of her race.
Our men’s SMR relay ready to kick off the indoor season.

Full results can be found here.

The Blue Hens End Their Winter Season in Style at Penn State in the Happy Valley Invitational

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For their final meet of the indoor season, the Delaware Club Track & Field squad traveled to Penn State University for the Happy Valley Invitational. For some it was the beginning of their season, for others it was the next step of their training, but regardless, the Hens put everything they had in a heavily competitive meet. 

The distance squad kicked off the meet in style, with all four distance medley relay teams finding their way on the indoor performance list. For the women, the squad of Jenna Mlecko, Eli Manning, Leah Goodman, and Kaitlyn Burke took 6th place in the field, running 14:46.79, which gave them the fourth best time ever run indoors. The top Delaware men’s DMR team of John Papadopoulos, Ryan Lazev, Sasha Latina, and Caden MacHenry placed 8th in the field and 7th on the all-time performance list, squeaking under the 12 minute mark at 11:58.75.

After the longest event of the day concluded, the two shortest events of the day kicked off. In the 60m girls hurdles, freshmen Grace Wertheimer (11.6) and CJ Williams (11.76) set season bests in back-to-back finishes. In the 60m dash, freshman Rilee McMahan tied her personal best time of 8.62, which was good for 8th place, and junior Sam Radinsky finished in 11th place, setting a new best time of 8.93, knocking off her old time by one-one hundredth of a second. The speed continued on the track with the 4×200 meter relay, and both Delaware relays found themselves on the all-time performance lists. The women’s relay of McMahan, Wertheimer, Lianna Greenstein, and Gianna Dowling placed 5th with a time of 2:05.09. The men’s team of Kurt Krummenacker, Jude Mazzola, Max Moltchanov, and Shane Isacson followed them up with a 3rd place finish in a time of 1:42.07.

In a massive field in the men’s mile, Michael Toy (4:43.96), Aravind Arunachalam (4:46.87), and Sasha Latina (4:50.80) all broke the sub-five minute mark and secured a top 30 spot, with Arunachalam even going as far to win his heat in his first ever collegiate track race. In CJ Williams’ first ever collegiate 400m race, she landed at 4th place on the all-time indoor performance list and secured 8th place in the field with a time of 1:08.03. She immediately followed that up with a 2:39.36 800m run with another 8th place finish and her third entry on the day to the indoor performance list. On the men’s side of the 800, Michael Anderson led the Blue Hens with an 11th place finish. His race was followed by a very competitive second heat, where Josh Pawlik (2:08.74), Ryan Lazev (2:09.74), and Evan Pawlik (2:10.42) all set new season bests as well as grabbed top-25 finishes. 

In the final event that the Delaware sprinters competed in, the 200m featured two performance list eligible finishes. The duo of Rilee McMahon (30.91) and Sam Radinsky (31.26) once again finished within a second of each other, scoring back-to-back placements at 10th and 11th. McMahon entered her name in the 200m list, landing in the 8th place spot, right behind her friend and teammate in Radinsky. 

In a highly anticipated event, the 3,000 meter race featured two top-10 finishes by the distance captains. Jenna Mlecko led off, and her time of 11:59.15 was good for an 8th place finish. Alex Horgan followed her up with a meet record-setting 8:45.92. This of course gave him the win as well as the 5th best indoor time ever for the club. The meet was concluded with the men’s 4x400m relay. Delaware secured 6th place with a time of 3:43.13, run by the squad of Anderson, Latina, and the Pawlik twins. 

The field events featured five top-5 placements by four different women. Lianna Greenstein continued her dominance of the indoor jumping events. She improved her club-best triple jump to 10.08 meters, and also set a new indoor-best in the long jump, soaring 4.47 meters. She placed 2nd and 4th respectively. In the high jump, Maggie Huizinga matched her season best jump of 4′ 8″ to place second, and Gianna Dowling leaped 4′ 6″ to place 5th. Maggie Morris became the first thrower to compete for Delaware this season, and she did not disappoint. Her 8.96 meter throw of the shot put landed her in third place, and was also the furthest throw in club history.

With the indoor season complete. Delaware moves on to the outdoor season, which starts on February 25th at Capital Relays in Washington D.C.


Full meet results can be found here.

 

Anderson taking the lead in the 4×400

Papadopoulos setting the pace in the men’s DMR

Burke finishing off the final leg of the women’s DMR

Arunachalam extending his lead in the mile race

Winter Break Doesn’t Stop A Small Group of Blue Hens From Coming Out To Compete

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Despite it being their winter break, the Delaware club track team was still ready to compete at Susquehanna University at the River Hawk Invitational. Only a mere six athletes attended the meet, but that didn’t stop them from putting out their best efforts. 

Freshman Maggie Huizinga was the lone woman, sprinter, and jumper who attended this mid-January competition. She started off the day in high jump, boasting a 5th place finish on a 1.42m jump, which improved upon her season opener. She followed that up with a 1:21.66 400-meter dash, which was good for 11th place in the meet and 9th place on the all-time indoor performance list.

The men had a few more athletes across three different races. In the mile run, freshman Brenden Debrosse led the Blue Hens in his first collegiate track race, finishing in 20th place with a time of 5:16.81. He was followed by Matt Bieker (5:51.01) and Jacob Letnaunchyn (6:21.01), who came in 28th and 29th place respectively. Junior Ryan Lazev placed 13th in the 800-meter race, finishing in a time of 2:11.39, which improved upon his season opening time from a month ago. Letnaunchyn was the only Blue Hen on the men’s side to run multiple events, succeeding the mile in the 800-meter with a time of 2:47.55. Jack Pelczar wrapped up the day in the 3,000-meter. The freshman ran a new personal best time of 10:17.42, which landed him in 11th place.

Delaware will travel to Penn State University on February 11th for their final winter track & field meet of the season.

Full meet results can be found here.

Huizinga clearing the bar for a 5th place finish

Letnaunchyn and Bieker working together in the mile

Pelczar on his way to a new personal best in the 3k

A Multitude of Athletes Make Their Mark on the All-Time Indoor Performance List in the Winter Season Opener

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The Delaware club track team made their way to nearby Franklin & Marshall College for the Diplomat Open to start the 2022-23 winter track season. Despite the first meet of the season always being tough, many Blue Hens put in work to find their way to the all-time indoor performance list as well as other good performances.

The jumpers started the meet early with their events and a big chunk of the newly acquired performance list spots. Freshman Lianna Greenstein started her college career with a bang, first securing 13th place in the long jump with a jump of 4.37m, which gave her the second longest indoor jump of all time, and followed that with a 10.06m jump in triple jump, resulting in a third place overall finish and passing Jenay Valentine’s mark of 9.44m for the furthest indoor triple jump in club history. Maggie Huizinga also managed a top 10 finish with a 1.40m leap in the high jump, which landed her second all-time for the club.

The sprinters finally started their season, getting to compete for the first time this season. Freshman Gracy Back matched her fellow freshman teammate with two performance list inclusions of her own. Back started her collegiate career with a 5th place finish in the 60m hurdles at 9.85, which passed Kayleigh Miedreich for best all-time, and a 17th place finish in the 60m in 8.56 to get the third spot on the all-time list. Rilee McMahan followed close behind in the 60m in her first ever race to get 8.62 and fifth all-time for Delaware. On the men’s side, freshman Kurt Krummenacker (24.41) managed a 15th place finish in the 200, in front of his teammates Stanley Louius (25.43) and Shane Isacson (25.63).

The distance runners didn’t have their full squad due to the recently completed cross country season, but that didn’t affect their ability to bring their best efforts. Senior Sasha Latina kicked off the meet in the 5k, and finished 12th place in 17:12.89. Michael Anderson wasted no time in his 800m race, going out very hard to get himself to fourth place finish (2:00.74). Freshman Josh Pawlik put up two top 15 finishes in his college debut, getting an 11th place finish (2:09.05) in the 800 and a 13th place finish (56.72) in the 400. The men managed three top 15 finishes in the mile run, with Matthew Kwiatkowski (4:41.83) leading in 7th place, followed by Alejandro Lobo (4:49.19) in 10th and Dan Giron (4:58.02) in 14th.

The women also had themselves a day in the distance events. Freshman Kaitlyn Burke highlighted these performances with two top 10 finishes across her two events. Burke’s 10th place time of 2:42.41 ties her with Emily Hansell for 8th all time in the indoor 800m, and her 6:17.81 mile slotted her at 4th in the entire field. Burke was one of three Blue Hens to crack the top 10 in the mile, she was followed by sophomore Lauren Pollock (6:26.12) in 8th and junior Natalie Pinto (6:36.21) in 10th.

Delaware looks to continue their winter season in a month on January 14th for the River Hawk Invite at Susquehanna University.

Full meet results can be found here.

Hens get back on the track at Happy Valley Invitational

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The Delaware club track team ended its 2021-2022 indoor track campaign at State College in the Happy Valley Invitational. In the indoor finale, multiple Blue Hens found their way on the Delaware all-time indoor performance list.

Ryan Wallace headlined the day for the Blue Hens finishing first in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.08. The time puts Wallace fourth all-time in the Delaware club records and surpasses Aaron Pettyjohn’s time of 9.11. 

The distance squads’ Alex Horgan and Mike Anderson both found their way into the points category for Delaware in the mile and 800-meter races. Horgan took third in the mile with a time of 4:35.62 and doubled back in the 800m with a time of 2:05.12. His teammate, Anderson, finished two spots ahead of Horgan, taking third in the 800m with a time of 2:02.20.

Jumpers Josiah Taylor and Drew Huffer also snagged three points for the Hens in the long jump. Taylor leaped his way into 7th place with a mark of 5.02 meters with Huffer right behind him with a jump of 4.96 meters. 

The men finished fourth as a team with a total of 37 points. 

Similar to the men, multiple women found success in the record books.

Senior Bailey Davin led the way for the women’s team in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 11:07.67, good for fourth place. The time puts Davin in fourth on the all-time indoor list and makes her the fourth woman in team history to run a sub 11:10 indoor 3,000-meter race. Her teammate and training partner, Leena Saidi grabbed two points for Delaware with a time of 11:46.66. Saidi’s time puts her in 7th place on the all-time indoor list.

Senior Allison Einig improved upon her already seventh all-time performance at Happy Valley in 2019 with a time of 2:35.74 In the 800-meter run. She now sits sixth all-time, passing Morgan Gallagher.

The duo of Sam Radinsky and Eli Manning racked up points for Delaware on the sprints side. Radinsky placed in the top 10 in both the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash. Radinsky secured the 6 points in the 60 meters with a time of 9.08. Manning’s 400m time added 8 points for Delaware with a second place finish and time of 1:06.35. 

The Hens’ DMR snagged the first points of the day for Delaware with a time of 14:48.37. The team is just the sixth women’s relay to run indoors and currently sits fifth all-time. The women finished with 25 points and in seventh place.

Full Happy Valley meet results can be found here. Delaware’s next meet is set for Feb. 26 at American University for the Capital Relays.