George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
Terrapin Invitational
Cross Country Continues Spring Season at the Terrapin Invitational
4/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
April 5, 2004
COLLEGE PARK, MD - The George Washington University Men's and Women's Cross Country teams continued their spring track season this Saturday, April 3, 2004, at University of Maryland's Terrapin Invitational in College Park, Maryland. Despite the cold and wind, which always seems to visit the Terrapin Invitational, both men and women made good showings in a number of highly competitive events.
The women, never boring, changed up their events from last week, entering six in the 1500m run and four in the 5000m run. After winning last weekend's 3000m run, freshman Bridget Skeuse (Stockton, NJ/Immaculata) decided to add a new distance to her repertoire and completed the 1500m run in 5:02.22, placing 12th in a highly competitive field of 38 runners. Skeuse was closely followed by a triumvirate of sophomore Meghan Dunn (Clinton, NY/Clinton), junior co-captain Mary Beth McCullough (Nashville, TN/Father Ryan), and sophomore Olivia Schramm (Berwyn, PA/Conestoga). The three worked together throughout the race, but Dunn broke away at the end, placing 16th with a time of 5:12.20. McCullough followed in 5:18.02, just beating Schramm's 5:19.29. GW's pack was rounded out by sophomores Emily Miletello (Baton Rouge, LA/Episcopal) and Colleen McCauley (Havertown, PA/Academy of Notre Dame).
Stephanie Johnson again represented the lady Colonials' sprint squad, finishing the 100m dash in 13.69. Having improved from last week, Johnson hopes to shave more and more time as the season continues.
Senior co-captain Emily Jadwin (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) led a squad of four in the women's 5000m run. Jadwin and junior Trina Bolton (Avondale Estates, GA/The Lovett School) moved up from last weekend's 3000m, while senior Laura DeLucia (Manchester, NH/Central) and freshman Taylor Leavitt (Turner, ME/Leavitt Area), both primarily 10,000m runners, enjoyed the chance to show off a little speed in their 5,000m debuts. Jadwin scored the ladies two points with a 7th place finish in a quick field, with a time of 18:42.83. Bolton kicked to a 10th place finish in 19:01.56. DeLucia and Leavitt followed with strong times, though DeLucia continues to battle chronic knee pain.
The men also kept the meet interesting, dispersing their squad of nine over three events. Freshmen Jay Vigorita (Warwick, RI/Pilgrim) and Marco Gonzalez (Anthony, TX/St. Anthony) both entered the 800m run for the first time in their collegiate careers and turned in good early season times. Vigorita is determined to have his day of glory at the distance, while Gonzalez is considering concentrating on the 400m for the remainder of the season.
Despite a ten minute delay for technical difficulties, five GW men represented the Colonials well in the 5,000m run. Despite the twilight chill, freshmen Ian Hajek (San Diego, CA/Home Schooled) and Daniel Morgan (Danville, KY/Boyle County) staked out top places early in the pack of twenty-eight. Trailing Hajek for much of the beginning, Morgan picked up the pace toward the end, finishing 11th with a time of 16:07.35, bettering his previous time by five seconds. Hajek followed closely, finishing in 16:21.00 for 13th place. The Connecticut three moved up this week from the 3,000m to the 5,000m. Freshman Kyle Sullivan (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) set the pace for his fellow statesmen for much of the race, but was caught in the end by Jeff Scranton (South Windsor, CT/South Windsor), who finished in 16:52.91. Sullivan came in at 17:06.08, leading sophomore Phil Sherman (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich), who finished only three seconds behind at 17:09.07.
Last weekend's men's 4x800m relay team tried their collective hand at the 4x400m relay. Sophomores Alex Brooket (York, PA/York Suburban) and Alex Kim (Scarsdale, NY/Carnegie Mellon) brought fresh legs to teammates Jay Vigorita and Marco Gonzalez, who had both competed in the 800m run shortly before. Brooket, Kim and Vigorita got the team off to a good start, but only 100m into the final leg, anchor Gonzalez was forced to step off the track with a pulled hamstring. The team wishes Gonzalez a speedy recovery as only three meets remain in the spring season.
