Photo courtesy of Sports Information
By Stephanie Dowling, Staff Writer
The Susquehanna men’s and women’s track and field team competed at the Nazareth College Conference Challenge Cup Invitational in Rochester, N.Y. on Saturday, Jan. 25.
The women’s track and field team came in 10th place this weekend. They posted five top-10 finishes throughout the meet. Two junior female athletes, Kate Ross and Sara Arbogast, recorded AARFTC qualifying marks at the Invitational.
Ross ran in the mile race, making a personal record of 5:21.93 for third place. Arbogast qualified for her AARFTC mark in the triple jump. She has been an athlete to watch in this event all season and she finished third at the cup with a distance of 10.77m.
“The meet was awesome, there was a lot of great competition and the facility was really nice to run in,” Ross said.
“I’m pleased with how I ran in the mile, and our 4×400 did well considering we all had tough races before the relay. The meet this weekend should be exciting because we get to run a 4×800 which we don’t run at every meet, and we run at home which is always fun.”
The men’s track and field team took home ninth place at the invitational, surpassing the 10-time defending Landmark Conference champion, Moravian College, who placed 10th.
Senior Chris Petraskie had a stellar performance in Rochester with two top-five finishes. He also qualified with an AARFTC score by placing third in the high jump at 1.89m. Petraskie also placed fourth in the long jump with a score of 6.46m.
After both Arbogast and Petraskie’s performances at the Nazareth College Conference Cup, they earned Landmark Conference Athletes of the Week honors, yet again. This is Arbogast’s second recognition this season and the fifth one of her career. This is also Petraskie’s second recognition this season and the ninth of his career.
The men’s and women’s track teams will both return to action this Saturday, Feb. 1, to compete at home at the SU Challenge in Selinsgrove, Pa.