Indoor College Track & Field
Rider at Army Dual
Bronc Men 4th of 6 / Women 6th of 6

WEST POINT, N.Y.--Both the Rider University men's and women's indoor track and field teams competed at the Army Dual Saturday afternoon with the Bronc men placing fourth and the Rider women finishing sixth.

Rider competed against Columbia, Lehigh, Monmouth, Williams and the host Black Knights.

"We wanted to have a small scoring style meet where we have a chance to compete against similar teams," head coach Bob Hamer said.  "With championships coming up, we need the experience of a team scored meet to reinforce that every place matters, not just the time you post or the distance you jump.  Beating someone is sometimes more important than how fast you run."

For the Rider women, junior Mia Riley (West Caldwell/James Caldwell) won the 60-meter in 7.89 and junior Megan Elgin (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) set a Rider record in the 3k, winning with a time of 10:05.84.  Elgin set a meet record in the mile at the Penn State relays last weekend.

"With the level of competition, Megan had that as a goal to try for the record and she got it," said Hamer.  "She is a tough competitor and is very confident.  And Mia, is having a great year.  She hit a new level last year and has continued that effort this season.  I couldn't be happier with her effort.  She dominated the competition she was with."

For the Rider men, junior David Hightower (Easton, Pa./Easton) won the 60 hurdles in an IC4A qualifying time of 8.25, grad student Michael Soroko (Kinnelon) won the 3k in an IC4A qualifying time of 8:20.34 and sophomore Steven Brown (Penns Grove) won the long jump (6.82m).

"David has been working to improve upon some things," Hamer said.  "He did a great job today and was the class of the hurdle field.  It was good for him and Michael to get the IC4A qualifier out of the way; it is one less thing for them to worry about.  Michael hasn't run a 3k in about two years and we were working to see what kind of fitness level he was at and he did well.  Steven is the ultimate competitor, shows up on game day and gets the job done."

Also for the Bronc men, freshman Nasser Zayer posted a PR (personal record) in the mile (4:25.06) and sophomore Billy Hackmeister (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) posted a 'PR' in the 5k (15:35.79).

Junior Sean Donohue (Cliffwood Beach/Matawan) had a 'PR' in the 3k (8:42.27), sophomore Corey O'Neill (Old Bridge) had a 'PR' in the 3k (8:56.26) and freshman Ariel Caceres (Union City) had a 'PR' in the 3k (9:22.96)

Also for the Rider women, senior Kelli Kaelin (Little Egg Harbor/Pinelands Regional) had a 'PR' in the 5k (18:50.52) and junior Nicole Tassello (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) had a 'PR' in the 5k (18:52.30).

Junior Erin Fitzgibbons (Sayreville) had a 'PR' in the 3k (10:32.77) and freshman Emily Ritter (Millsboro, Del./Sussex Tech) had a 'PR' in the 3k (10:41.69).

Rider competes at the Terrier Invitational hosted by Boston University January 27-28.

-RU-