College Track and Field
Swarthmore Final Qualifier Meet
Solujich Rider Shot Put Record
SWARTHMORE, Pa.—Several members of the Rider University men's and women's track and field teams competed on Monday at the Swarthmore Final Qualifier meet.
“We came here to get some big performances and set some personal bests and we did exactly that,” said head coach Bob Hamer.
For the Rider men, senior George Solujich (East Windsor/Notre Dame) won the shot put in a Rider record distance of 56'3.75”.
“It was great to see George set the record again,” Hamer said. “He is constantly improving and still has some big throws in there.”
For the Bronc women, junior Madeline Hummel (Marlton/Holy Cross) was ninth in the 400 hurdles (1:05.85), junior Stephanie Welte (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Basil's Academy) placed 32nd in the 1500 with a 'PR' of 4:45.08 and freshman Alexandra Santora (Douglasville, Pa./Daniel Boone) was 53rd in the 1500, also with a personal best of 5:00.36.
“Steph has been good this year and she continued that effort tonight,” Hamer said. “She has battled through some injuries and now that she is healthy, we are getting positive results. When you string together consistent training, you get great results.”
Also for the Bronc men, sophomore Devon Jefferson (Franklin Park/Franklin) was fourth in the 400 hurdles with a 'PR' of 53.82, junior Darien Edwards (South Orange/St. Benedict's) was fifth in the 400 hurdles (54.26), sophomore Brad Kaufmann (East Meadow, N.Y./East Meadow) was sixth in the 3000 steeplechase with a personal best of 9:16.59, senior Anthony DeFranco (Berkeley Heights/Governor Livingston) was eighth in the pole vault (14'9”), sophomore Johnathan Jackson (Roselle/Magnet) placed 18th in the 800 (1:53.18), junior Tom McLaughlin (Egg Harbor Township/Egg Harbor) was 30th in the 800 with a personal best time of 1:53.86, senior Derek Lake (Middletown, N.Y./Pine Bush) was 53rd in the 800 with a personal record of 1:56.82 and sophomore Scott Wood (Florence/Holy Cross) was 55th in the 800 (1:56.93).
“Devon was great in the 400 hurdles,” Hamer said. “He is constantly improving and today was no different. I'm excited for him. Brad came so close to an IC4A qualifier tonight. He's run three races within three seconds of the qualifying mark and this is a tough pill to swallow. He has improved so much this year and can be proud of his accomplishments as he heads into the off season. He is going to be very good for this program moving forward.”
Rider competes at the 139th IC4A and the 32nd ECAC Championships, hosted by Princeton University May 15-17.
“We are looking forward to this weekend,” Hamer added. “We had a great indoor effort at IC4As and we need to continue that growth this coming weekend.”
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