The track and field team competed in its fifth competition of the season at the Lafayette-Lehigh dual meet on Saturday when it dropped both the men’s and women’s competitions by a score of 106-75 and 108-73, respectively.
Despite the overall defeat, there were plenty of positives for the Leopards to take from the meet. In the women’s 60-meter dash, freshman Ida Moczerniuk ran a 7.72 to both win the event and break the Lafayette school record.
“I knew I had won, and running back I went to watch the board, and the screen lit up with 7.72,” Moczerniuk said. “I knew it was the school record. I’ve been stalking top-10 lists for the past couple of weeks, so it was an unbelievable experience that I was able to pull that out.”
Moczerniuk credited her performance to the work she put in over the interim period, which allowed her to dedicate herself to track and redefine her pre-race mentality.
“I don’t think it’s just a matter of things aligning,” Moczerniuk said. “It was really the work I was putting in and the support of my teammates. I learned that if I focus on the race itself instead of the time, then the time that I want will come.”
Moczerniuk, still beginning her Lafayette career, emphasized that she is not resting on her laurels even with such a major accomplishment already secured. She has already set her sights on the records of her other events.
“Anything that’s within my reach I definitely want to try my hand and see how close I can get to it,” Moczerniuk said. “My teammates were joking with me at practice, saying ‘Wow, you’re so record hungry!’ So I guess I’m a little competitive, but that comes with the sport.”
Sophomore Maeve Waldron also had a strong 60-meter performance, securing third place with a time of 7.79 and earning the fourth spot on the school’s indoor top-10 list. Junior Nava Chevan walked away from the 500-meter with a victory and a spot in third on the all-time list.
Senior Juliette Delmotte won both the long jump and the triple jump, while junior Erin O’Leary secured a win in the weight throw.
On the men’s side, sophomore Benjamin Hill secured first place in the pole vault, clearing the bar at 4.56 meters in a jump-off after both Hill and a Lehigh opponent failed on their initial efforts.
“It was surreal,” Hill said. “When we both missed our first three attempts, I thought the meet was over. Once I realized that a jump-off was going to happen, I got super excited. I knew this was my one chance and I needed to hit it.”
That’s exactly what Hill did, securing both the win for the Leopards and a personal best in the process. This makes it two wins in a row for men’s pole vault after junior Jack Lynett took first at the Moravian Invitational on Jan. 20. Hill attributes this success to the pair’s friendly competition and encouragement.
“Me and Jack bounce really good energy off of each other,” Hill said. “Especially now that I’m up with him PR-wise, we use that competition to push each other.”
The men’s runners also secured several high finishes for the Leopards. Sophomore John Paul Pfisterer and freshman Alexander Caba each took first in the 500-meter and 200-meter, respectively, while sophomore sprinter Roman Conca took home second in both the 60-meter and 200-meter.
The team heads to the NYC Armory today for the two-day Rutgers Invitational.
