Outdoor

Outdoor track meets

Delaware Opens Their Spring Season in Frigid Conditions at Capital Relays

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The Delaware Club Track & Field team opened their spring season in the nation’s capital at American University for the Capital Relays. Despite it being the spring season, the winter weather was still hanging on. Throughout the day, runners had to deal with a mix of hail, wind, and near freezing temperatures. Despite this, the Blue Hens fought the elements as well as their opponents to start the season off with gritty performances.

Alex Horgan started the meet for the Blue Hens with a masterful running of the 5k. Horgan not only won the race handily, but he set a new meet record and improved to third all time in club history. On top of all that, he also made a 23-second improvement on his personal best, breaking the 15-minute mark for the first time by running the race in 14:54.78.

As soon as the 5ks finished, the hail started falling hard, just in time for the start of the 100-meter dash. That didn’t stop four Blue Hens from scoring on both sides. In the women’s 100, junior Sam Radinsky (14.53) and freshman Rilee McMahan (14.6) placed 3rd and 4th respectively. The men followed up a pair of 3rd and 4th place finishes of their own. Freshman Kurt Krummenacker (11.44) and junior Daniel Toms (12.07) both managed to score points in their first individual outdoor races of their collegiate careers.

Horgan continued his winning ways in the 1600-meter race. He took the lead half-way through the race and never looked back, securing the win by five seconds with a time of 4:33.73. No women scored for women in the 1600, but freshmen Kaitlyn Burke (6:06.04) and Hannah Heredia (6:06.50) took the top two spots in their heat, both managing top-15 overall finishes. More winning was done in the men’s 4×100-meter relay, where the squad of Krummenacker, Toms, Josiah Taylor, and Shane Isacson won the race in 49.89 seconds.

The 800-meter race had a handful of top-10 finishes and scoring spots. The duo of sophomore Leah Goodman (2:52.82) and Burke (2:53.64) both top-10, squeezing in 9th and 10th respectively. On the men’s side, three Blue Hens managed to score points. Junior Ryan Lazev (2:09.98), freshman Josh Pawlik (2:10.66), and senior Sasha Latina (2:11.16) finished back-to-back-to-back, finishing in 4th, 5th, and 6th respectively.

In the final and most anticipated event of the day, three evenly matched men’s 4×400 relay teams from Delaware battled it out for the crown. In a back and forth race, it all came down to the final leg, where Caden MacHenry went from third to first, catching his teammate at the line, giving him, Lazev, Brady Sheaffer, and Evan Pawlik the victory. Unfortunately, the heat-winning time of 3:56.25 was only good for 2nd place overall.

As a unit, the University of Delaware’s men’s team was the top squad. They finished with 81 total points, which was 34 more than second place. The women’s team scored 37 points, which landed them at 4th place.

The club only has to wait one week for their next meet. The Lloyd Sigler Spring Meet takes place on March 4th, hosted by Salisbury University.

Full men’s results can be found here, and women’s here.

Horgan celebrating his new personal best in the 5k

Toms and Krummenacker fighting the elements in the 100-meter

Caden MacHenry passing John Papadopoulus at the finish line of the 4×400 with the entire team cheering them on

Multiple Seniors Go Out on Top at Paul Kaiser Classic

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Delaware Club Track ended its 2022 outdoor track meet schedule on Saturday at Shippensburg in the Paul Kaiser Classic. The meet marked the last race for multiple seniors on the team. 

Their performances did not disappoint starting with the first event.

Seniors Talia Brookstein-Burke and Bailey Davin became two of the first three women ever to compete in the 10,000-meter run in team history. Both placed in the top ten for the Hens with Brookstein-Burke (40:08.98) taking second and Davin (40:57.42) snagging seventh. The duo already sits fourth and fifth all-time in the 5,000-meter run.

Tailia Brookstein-Burke (left) and Bailey Davin (right) embrace after completing their races in the 10k.

The pairs of senior roommates for the ladies and the fellas shined in the remaining long distance events. Schuyler Reed and Paul Filipow, members of the men’s track house, ended their collegiate career in the 5k within two places of one another. Filipow finished with a time of 16:22.19 and Reed in 16:34.86. Liz Steenkamer and Kendra Cutler, members of the women’s track house, rounded out the long distance performances for the senior squad in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. 

Cutler finished tenth with a time of 13:52.10 and Steenkamer in 14:40.62.

Allison Einig smashed a personal best in the 1,500-meter run and put her name on the all-time list with a time of 5:06.87. Einig is fifth all-time and surpassed Stephanie Palese’s 2017 Delaware Classic mark of 5:08.03. She doubled back for the last event of the day, the 4×400-meter relay, which finished with a time of 5:10.10.

Allison Einig passes the clock in the middle of her 1500-meter run personal best performance.

Multiple seniors of the sprints and field crew also went out in style. Kate Contini led the women in the short sprints in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Contini’s performances in both events put her second on the all-time list in the 200 (28.69) and fifth in the 100 (13.88). 

Drew Huffer competed in the triple jump (11.41m), 4×100-meter relay (46.85) and one two 4×400 teams (4:04.33). Huffer’s 4×100 time is tenth in team history. Senior Pat LaPorte made his season debut and finale alongside Huffer in the 4×4. He underwent knee surgery in October.

The end for the seniors in the blue and gold did not take away from multiple impressive performances from underclassmen. Jenna Mlecko joined Davin and Brookstein-Burke in making team history in the 10k with a time of 44:14.37.  Alex Horgan became the fourth athlete to break the four minutes in the 1500 (3:56.53), while Mike Anderson became the fifth to eclipse two minutes in the 800-meter run. 

Alex Horgan looks on in amazement after breaking four minutes in the 1500-meter run.

The team is set to compete two more times in events including a team scrimmage set for May 13 and the Frankswine Downhill Mile on May 16.

 

Men Place in Top 10, Multiple Women Make All-Time List at Bill Butler Invite

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Delaware Club Track traveled to West Chester University to begin its first of three meets in a three week stretch at the Bill Butler Invitational. 

The men took home sixth place as a team with 33 points out of a 13 team field. The women saw multiple runners score along with two sprinters earning their way onto the team all-time lists.

The fellas were led by Alex Horgan who continued his dominance across the track in the 5,000-meter run.  Horgan put nearly a minute between him and the rest of the field and finished with a time of 15:17.60. The time moves Horgan into sixth place all-time, surpassing Aidan Galasso. Senior Paul Filipow also secured points for Delaware in the event taking sixth place in 16:34.08.

In the mid-distance events, freshman Mike Anderson grabbed three points for the Hens with a time of 2:00.07. The time puts Anderson at fifth all-time in the 800-meters. Ryan Wallace and Jack Murphy also found success in the technical events for the Hens with Wallace placing fourth in the 110-meter hurdles (16.08) and Murphy fifth in javelin (42.60m). Wallace now sits second all-time in the hurdles, with Murphy fourth all-time. 

For the ladies, two sprinters found their way onto the all-time record lists in the 400-meter and 100-meter dashes. Eli Manning’s time of 1:05.42 puts her fourth all-time in the event. Manning found her name on the all-time list in the event indoors over the winter. 

Sam Radinsky’s time in the 100-meter dash (14.37) earned her the spot of eighth all-time. Similar to Manning, Radinsky found her way onto the all-time lists during indoor track in both the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes.

In the distance events, Kendra Cutler and Allison Einig build upon their success from NIRCA Nationals. Cutler placed once again in the top ten in steeplechase. Cutler finished with a time of 13:46.60 and placed sixth. Allison Einig took home another three points for the women in the 1500-meter run. Einig’s time of 5:17.54 put her in sixth in the event.

Delaware will travel to College Park next weekend to compete in the Terrapin Invitational, hosted by Maryland’s club running team.

Three Blue Hens Earn All-American Honors at NIRCA Nationals

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Despite spring break, the Blue Hens made the long trek out to Olivet College to compete in the NIRCA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The appearance at track nationals is the team’s first since the 2019 season.

The women were headlined by seniors Allison Einig and Kendra Cutler taking home All-American recognition in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Einig finished fourth with a time of 13:34.04, while Cutler followed closely behind. Cutler placed fifth and crossed the line with a time of 14:25.94. 

Einig and Cutler scored all of the nine total points for the women on the weekend.

On the men’s side, freshman Ryan Wallace received All-American honors after taking home second place in the 110-meter hurdles. Wallace finished in a time of 16.20 and now holds the second fastest outdoor 110 hurdle time in team history. He surpassed Andrew Villari’s 2013 NIRCA Nationals time of 16.40.

Multiple Blue Hens found success in the 5000-meter run for both the ladies and the fellas. The duo of Bailey Davin and Talia Brookstein-Burke both placed inside the top 20. Davin led the way finishing 10th with a time of 19:14.09. The time puts her fifth all-time on the team outdoor records list. Brookstein-Burke placed sixteenth in 19:37.07.

For the men, Alex Horgan continued his tear in the 5k. Horgan took home 10th place in the event with a time of 15:19.64. His time surpassed that of Brandon Quanci and puts him seventh all-time on the team in the event.

In the field events, jumpers Tyran Rice and Drew Huffer both placed in the top 20 nationally. Rice, a freshman, leaped his way to a mark of 5.60 meters in the long jump. Rice is the first long jumper to get on the outdoor all-time list since Matt Ward did so in 2019. Rice surpassed Ward’s mark of 5.58 meters and now sits sixth all-time.

Huffer left Michigan with a top 10 place after finishing ninth in the triple jump. Huffer finished with a mark of 11.30 meters.

The Hens will get the week off before traveling to West Chester University on April 16 to compete in the Bill Butler Invitational.

Men and Women’s Teams Secure First Place Finishes at Club Penn Relays

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Delaware Club Track traveled to historic Franklin Field to compete in the Club Penn Relays with both men’s and women’s teams taking home first place team victories. The women finished with a total of 44 points, while the men finished with 37.

In the individual events, the women were led by the combination of Leena Saidi, Talia Brookstein-Burke and Bailey Davin in the mile and two mile. Davin and Brookstein-Burke secured second and third places for the Hens with times of 11:57.88 and 12:31.53 in the 3200. Saidi took third in the mile with a time of 5:55.28 and placed third for Delaware. 

On the men’s individual side, the fellas placed two Blue Hens in the top three in the two mile with Alex Horgan finishing first and Paul Filipow taking third. Horgan secured the win with a time of 9:46.69. Filipow followed up Horgan with a 10:11.13 performance.

With a total of six relays over the course of the meet, the ladies placed in the top three in five of the six total relays. The women did not run a 4×400-meter relay. On the sprints side, the 4×100-meter and 4×200-meter relays took home first place with times of 1:00.20 and 2:10.83 respectively. The women placed second in each of the distance relays including the 4×800-meter relay, the 1600-meter DMR and 4000-meter DMR.

The men also found success in the sprint and distance relays with both teams entered in the men’s 4×100 taking second and third place with times of 49.19 and 51.69. Delaware secured a victory in the men’s 4×400 with a time of 3:50.88. The men’s 4×200 and 1600-meter DMR also both took home second place finishes.

Delaware is set to travel out to Michigan to race in NIRCA Nationals on April 2 and April 3 in Olivet, Michigan.