College Outdoor Track & Field
Rider at Raleigh Relays
2 ECAC Qualifiers
Mateescu Rider Record in 10k

RALEIGH, N.C.—The Rider University outdoor track and field team sent two members of the women's squad to North Carolina on Friday to compete in the Raleigh Relays in the opener of the spring outdoor season.

“This was a very successful meet for us tonight,” said head coach Bob Hamer.  “I'm excited to see what the rest of the season holds.  We accomplished our goals with two ECAC qualifiers.”

For the Broncs, junior Nicolette Mateescu (Kendall Park/South Brunswick) set a Rider record in the 10k with an ECAC qualifying time of 35:45.74, finishing 22nd.

“Nikki raced very well,” Hamer said.  “She was with the right pack of runners for the first 5k.  The second 5k, she had to face most of it alone and that was tough.  She really buckled down to finish strong.  This was a personal record for her by almost a minute.”

In the steeplechase, senior Emily Ritter (Millsboro, Del./Sussex Tech) was fifth in an ECAC qualifying time of 10:29.22.

“This was a good opener for Emily,” Hamer said.  “She recovered well after tripping on the first water barrier and returned to form a few laps later.”

The rest of the Rider men's and women's track and field teams open up the spring season at the Lafayette 7-Way Invitational on Sunday at noon.

-RU-