Photo By Michael Lipscomb
By Ashley Nace
The Riverhawks brought speed and strength to the Robert I. Estill Field House as they returned home to host their annual Friday Night Showdown.
After several weekends competing on the road, Susquehanna hosted six NCAA Division III schools, as well as Division II Lock Haven University and Shippensburg University.
Many Riverhawks made their name known on Friday, including Freshmen Kendall Simms, who broke her own pole vault school record and placed first in the event for the third weekend in a row after vaulting 3.52m. Fellow Riverhawk Sophia Bostwick placed fifth in the event with a vault of 2.77m.
“It’s nice to have two home meets this weekend and next weekend,” Junior Captain Mason Winslow said. “The home meets are the best for our energy, having home fans, having home teammates.”
Winslow described the energy of the team as “electric” and explained that competing at home allows the team to build off that strong energy they’ve already established. Winslow finished second in the men’s 800m along with Susquehanna’s Aaron Kolosowsky, who placed first in the event.
The men continued their domination in the 60m hurdles, where five Riverhawks placed in the top six spots. Susquehanna alumni Brandon Zimmerman placed first, followed by Carter Smink taking second, Calder Diakite with third, Niko Lulewich in fifth, and Charles Montross in sixth.
“I mean, we train pretty hard every day,” Winslow said. “Attention to detail is really important to us.”
Junior Dominic Santos placed third in the 60m with Winslow taking fourth. Susquehanna’s 4x400m team of Rowan Smith, Liam Messina, Lulewich, and Ryan Sullivan finished third, while two other Riverhawk teams took the eighth and tenth place spots.
The Riverhawk women also showed out with striking performances. Senior Ashley Newman took first in the 200m with a time of 27:37 seconds. Junior Carlotte Houle tied for second in the high jump with a jump of 1.48m.
Bostwick took fourth and Riley Schlosser took ninth in the 800m, while the Riverhawks 4x200m team, comprised of Newman, Denicia German, Nakayah Tyler, and Megan McDougall, finished fourth.
“Overall, it takes a lot of time and dedication, but everyone seems to be really motivated and everyone’s kind of bought into the team and really being able to push ourselves to prepare for Champs,” Winslow stated.
Susquehanna will host the Landmark Conference Championships for Indoor Track & Field on February 28. With multiple River Haws looking to claim a conference championship in their respective events, the home field advantage could help their performance.
“We’re looking to be in a good position to do some damage at Championships,” Winslow continued. Several other Riverhawks finished off the night strong. In the women’s track events, Alyssa Varias placed seventh in the 60m hurdles, Julianna Sobocinski placed tenth in the mile, Tyler placed tenth in the 400m, and Jessica Askins placed tenth in the 3000m.
Susquehanna’s 4x400m team of Katie Wojton, Gaby Howe, Aubrie Berwager, and Calder Clark also finished in the top five, taking the fourth place spot.
In the women’s field events, Bella Dauberman and Kiera Carbone finished seventh and eighth in shot put, Abigail Haskell finished sixth in weight throw, and German and Annie Gehman finished seventh and ninth in the triple jump.
In the men’s track events, Evander Lackman and Thomas McGann finished fourth and fifth in the mile, while Messina and Smith finished seventh and ninth in the 400m.
In the men’s field events, Hayden Durst, Thomas Stitt, and Maxwell Freeman finished sixth, seventh, and tenth in the pole vault. Kieran Hennessy and Cooper Bottorf finished fifth and eighth in the weight throw.
Charles Montross, Gabe LaGrossa, and Eli Book finished fourth, sixth, and ninth in the long jump, and Kyle Landry and LaGrossa finished fourth and sixth in the triple jump.
The Riverhawks will be back next Saturday to host the SU Valentine Invite on Saturday, Feb 14.