The moment that the Rowan women’s indoor track & field team have all been waiting for is finally upon us, and it certainly lived up to the hype.
Love was not the only thing in the air this February as the spirit of the 2022 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Indoor Track & Field Championships motivated the Profs to a second-place finish.
Makayla Taylor, a senior, was certainly not opposed to doing some of the heavy lifting in this competition, tossing a school record of 16.48 meters, securing first place in the weight throwing event.
Fellow senior Nicole Notarianni also lived up to the moment, setting a personal record of 9.08 in the 60-meter hurdles, taking second overall.
As for the 60-meter dash, freshman Molly Lodge and senior Promise Fadahunsi packed a potent two-three punch, almost simultaneously crossing the finish line at 7.91 and 7.94 respectively.
The aforementioned Lodge also came up in a big way during the 4×400 relay, with freshman Nevaeh Lorjuste and juniors Amanthy Sosa Caceres and Kat Pedersen grinding out a first-place finish in nearly four minutes flat.
This theme of teamwork truly characterized the day’s events, with the 4×200 relay squad of Fadahunsi, Pedersen, Notarianni, and freshman Jasmine Broadway locking up second place with a mark of 1:50.35. Similar fortunes were in store for sophomore Amanda McNally and juniors Robin Collura, Casey Baquero and Carley Tool, who took home third place in the distance-medley race.
Distance running also treated senior Lyndsay Boyd quite well, with her time of 19:16.32 being second best in the 5000-meter race.
Rounding out the day were the pole-vaulting exploits of junior Kate Appleby-Wineberg and freshman Alysia Coursey, whose distances of 3.05 and 2.75 meters resulted in a second and third place combination.
Every drill, practice and competition led to this one fateful moment, and Head Coach Derick “Ringo” Adamson’s squad put their plethora of talents on full display.
“I am so pleased with how good of a fight they put up,” Coach Adamson said. “Going through all of these tribulations and rising above them is bound to make them stronger. This will serve as a tremendous stepping stone into the outdoor season.”
The epitome of growing stronger throughout the season has certainly been seen in senior weight thrower Makayla Taylor. Her tosses have been going further and further with every passing meet, standing alone at the top of the podium and Rowan history on multiple occasions.
“Not overthinking too much was key in preparing for NJACs,” Taylor said. “The biggest thing that helped me secure first place was reminding myself of what I’m capable of and that there was no reason for me to doubt myself.”
The same level of poise and endurance was displayed by freshman Molly Lodge. She has served as the swiss-army knife this season, competing in any event necessary, no matter the circumstance.
“I love both 60m races so when I found out I was doing both I was quite excited,” Lodge said. “For me, the fatigue didn’t kick in between the races because I was running on adrenaline more than anything and we train to be able to run lots of races so running the finals back to back wasn’t as bad as it would be without that training.”
Coach Adamson’s squad did not let the moment of the NJAC Championships become too big for them nor did the lights shine too brightly. As Coach “Ringo” fittingly mentioned, the results at the NJACs will propel them forward into this Friday, Feb. 25, Fastrack Last Chance Meet and the rest of this indoor campaign.
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