March 4, 2007 - Four Broncs All-East Honors at IC4A/ECAC
March 4, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rider Indoor Track at 86th IC4A’s / ECAC’s
Four Broncs All-East Honors
BOSTON, MA—Several members of the Rider indoor track and field teams competed at the IC4A’s and ECAC’s hosted by Boston University this past weekend with four Broncs coming home with All-East honors. “This has probably been the best indoor season in Rider history,” said head coach Rob Pasquariello. “A conference championship on the women’s side and five All-East performances at IC4A’s/ECAC’s. This has been a really special year for the program.”
For the women’s team, senior Jazmine Fenlator was awarded All-East honors in the weight throw with a sixth place finishing distance of 53’8.50”. Fenlator (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley) was also All-East in the shot put with a sixth place throw of 47’3.25”.
“Jazmine is the most decorated track athlete in Rider history and she showed why today,” said Pasquariello. “She did not throw her best but she got the job done. She found a way to place and get All-East honors and that’s what great competitors do.”
Sophomore Kelly Kajunski (Glenmore, Pa./Downington East) was fifth in the high jump with a Rider record effort of 5’8.75” also earning All-East honors. “Kelly was great today,” said Pasquariello. “She goes into every meet as one of the shortest kids out there and she is jumping against girls that are 5-10 and 6-0 and she holds her own. She is very talented and just missed the 5-10 NCAA provisional mark.”
“Jazmine got All-East for the fifth time in her career but it was her first time in the shot put for the indoor season so that was a nice accomplishment for her,” said Pasquariello. “Both Jazmine and Kelly went against tremendous competition, competing against All-Americans and they did very well.”
As a junior, Fenlator was the 2005-06 Female Athlete of the Year at Rider and two weeks ago, helped lead the Broncs to their first ever indoor conference championship.
“Jazmine is very talented but her biggest growth in the last two years has been her ability to battle and compete. Her level of maturity is such that if she has a bad throw, she can bounce right back, put it out of her mind and make a better throw on the next try. She makes adjustments to any adversity that she runs into and that has been the key to her growth in the past couple of years. Her attitude and effort is why she has become one of the best athletes in our history and she is looking to continue that effort in the outdoor season,” said Pasquariello.
On the men’s side, sophomore Desmond Hamilton (Pennsauken, N.J./Pennsauken) received All-East honors with a second place finish in the long jump (7.21m) with David Payne (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) earning All-East honors with a fifth place finish in the 200m (21.418). Payne also competed in the 55m, finishing 11th in the semi-finals with a time of 6.49.
“Desmond hasn’t has a whole lot of opportunity to jump this year due to injury,” said Pasquariello. “He won the conference a few weeks ago and we worked on some things since and that really paid off. He had a big jump in a big time meet and his effort didn’t surprise us because we know what he can do.”
Hamilton’s effort was the highest IC4A finish for Rider since assistant coach Justin Lindsey got second in the hurdles during the 2001 outdoor season.
“David came up big for us again,” said Pasquariello. “It is his fourth All-East performance and he ended his indoor career on a real high note. It does not matter the size of the meet for David, he is going to come up with his best effort for us in any situation and that’s why he is one of our most consistent performers. He has trained hard, has listened to the coaches and that effort has put him in the position to be successful. He provides a balance for everyone else on the team. They know he is going to give his best effort every time out and that’s why he is a captain because we can count on him to score in the meet and lead everyone by the example that he sets. He is consistent and we know good things will happen every time he lines up.”
Also for Rider, junior Randy Nixon (Manorville, N.Y./West Hampton) was 11th in the semi-finals of the 55 high hurdles with a time of 7.63, freshman Karlise Cureton (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Twp.) ran a personal best with a time of 8.17 in the 60-meter and sophomore A.J. Parillo (South River, N.J./South River) was 33rd in the 400m (49.49).
The distance medley relay of junior Jeff Stead (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury), freshman Paul Racioppi (Old Bridge, N.J./Old Bridge), sophomore Matt Dahl (West Keansburg, N.J./Raritan) and junior Andre Fearon (Newark, N.J./St. Benedict's Prep) was 15th with a Rider record time of 10:04.75.
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