Rams run off on the track twice

Erika Robinson, Contributing Writer

As a result of Winter Storm Jonah, Virginia Tech was forced to cancel its track meet on Jan. 29-30 and VCU’s women’s indoor track and field team took the track again when they traveled to George Mason University.

The Ram’s participated in the GMU Patriot Games, where they looked to add upon their strong showings in their first two meets of the season. The Rams came back to Richmond with an overall first place finish in the meet.

Like the first two meets, VCU continued its success with a strong team effort. The Rams took first and second place in the 60m dash and were led by redshirt-freshman sprinter, Kia Carson, who placed with a time of 7.67. Senior sprinter and jumper Carina Peter had a time of 7.79 and also won the triple jump with of 11.88m. Sophomore jumper Taylor McCormick was second with a jump of 11.34m.

It was a clean sweep for the Rams in the 500m. Former Ram, Kiara Porter competed in the event, running unattached. She placed first with a time of 1:14.26 where she was closely followed by freshman mid-distance runner Ashley Greenlee, who took second with a time of 1:15.98. Sophomore mid-distance runner Nichelle Scott came in third with a time of 1:17.35 and freshman sprinter and mid-distance runner Latrice Morris came in fourth with a respectable time of 1:19.34

In the 200m dash, senior sprinter Jessica Ewing placed second with a time of 25.60 and just behind her was senior sprinter Verna Hilaire-Lee with a time of 25.72 and Carson who clocked in at 25.76. Freshman hurdler Alliyah Stevens took third in the 60m hurdles with a time of 9.19 and placed fourth in the long jump with a jump of 5.44m.

Senior thrower Jada Roberts threw a personal best when she placed third in the weight throw with a throw of 15.58. Senior thrower Briana Ratchford tossed 13.27m in the shot put, which was good enough for second place. Junior long distance runner Emily Dyke captured second place with a time of 5:10.34 in the mile run.

Head Coach Jon Riley was happy with the team’s win, but said he knows that there is still more improvement that needs to take place.

“Today was a good start.” Riley said. “We had flashes of what we are capable of, but our staff knows that there is still work to do. If we can continue to focus at practice and put in the work, we are hopeful for big things in the future.”

The Rams will travel to the University of Akron for their next meet on this weekend, Feb. 6-7. This will be their last indoor meet before the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships on Feb. 20.