College Track & Field
Rider at Princeton Invitational
PRINCETON, NJ—The Rider University track & field team competed at the Princeton Invitational Friday. “We had some great races tonight,” said Rider head coach Bob Hamer. “We came to this meet to get big moments like the ones we had tonight.”
On Friday at Princeton senior Emily Ritter (Millsboro, Del./Sussex Tech) broke her own Rider record in the 3,000m steeplechase with an ECAC qualifying time of 10:08.11 to place fourth overall, second among collegiate runners. “Emily ran a great race tonight,” Hamer said. “She broke her own Rider record by 13 seconds and it is likely an NCAA first round qualifier. She was very patient. She is a very special athlete who ran a big time race tonight. It is one of the top 15 times in the NCAA at this point. She has big goals this year and she is doing the right things to progress towards those goals. I'm very excited for her.”
Junior Nicolette Mateescu (Kendall Park/South Brunswick) ran the 5,000m in a Rider record time of 16:59.65, qualifying for the ECAC Championships. “Niky has just been fantastic for the last two years,” Hamer said. “She keeps getting better and she steps up in big moments. Breaking 17:00 is a great accomplishment and to set a new Rider record is another big moment for Niky and the program.”
Sophomore Brad Kaufmann (East Meadow, NY) ran a personal record 9:17.37 in the 3,000m steeplechase. “Brad has steadily improved each race and tonight was the culmination of all the hard work and effort he has put in to his running,” Hamer said. “He has learned how to be a patient racer and learning how to rip the last portion of the race. His results reflect his growth as a runner. I'm very excited for his progress and I'm looking forward to some big moments from him to come in the next few weeks.”
Junior Stephanie Welte (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Basil's Academy) ran a personal record 2:16.50 in the 800m. “Steph has been coming along each week in training and she just hasn't had the big race to match her results in training. Tonight she took a big step forward to realizing her potential.”
Junior Tom McLaughlin (Egg Harbor Township, NJ/Egg Harbor) ran a 4:03.57 in the 1,500m
Sophomore Johnathan Jackson (Roselle, NJ/Magnet) ran a 1:54 in the 800m
Senior Anthony Dentino (Sewell/Washington Township) ran the 5,000m in 15:39.03.
Senior Dylan Hallahan (Wrightstown/Northern Burlington Regional) ran a 9:23.92 in the 3,000m steeplechase
Rider will compete Saturday in two events at Princeton and four events at Moravian's Greyhound Invitational, with the rest of the team competes at the Elon Phoenix Invitational.
“I'm very happy for the athletes who had big breakthroughs tonight because they work very hard,” Hamer said. “It is a great feeling to watch young people achieve things that they were not always sure they could. I'm looking forward to another great day tomorrow.”
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