After a long and restful break, Rowan women’s indoor track & field were back in action at the NYC Gotham Cup to resume their 2022 campaign. Last Friday’s event, on Jan. 21, proved to be fruitful for the squad, allowing them to regain some of their form that guided them down the stretch in their 2021 outdoor season.

Though team scoring was not a factor, the exploits of established veterans and emergence of new talent were certainly encouraging to behold.

Kicking things off for the Profs was freshman Nevaeh Lorjuste, whose 400-meter time of 59.95 was good for seventh place in the event. She also contributed to the 4×400 relay, where junior Sha’Lynn Clarke and freshmen Molly Lodge and Jasmine Broadway took home a fifth-place finish with their time of 4:05.92. 

In regards to the long-distance contest, the combination of Robin Collura, Amanda McNally, Carley Tool and Emma Amilcare secured a fifth-place finish in the 4000-meter medley by crossing the finish line at the 14.13.22 mark. 

As for the 5000-meter race, freshman Elizabeth Flower showed her ability to blossom, placing tenth overall with a time of 22.34.72. Also placing tenth was senior Promise Fadahunsi, whose 8.03 time got the job done in the 60-meter competition. Fellow senior Makayla Taylor took 14th in the weight throw with a toss of 13.96 meters, as well as 19th in the shot put with a distance of 10.37 meters. 

Ultimately, Head Coach Derick “Ringo” Adamson was pleased by his team’s performance and noted that the results were to his expectation.

“Nothing really surprised me or shook me too much,” Coach Adamson said. “I expected everything that happened, and I feel comfortable with the situation.”

When dealing with the cerebral nature of Coach Adamson, this outlook was equally expected. Though the team has yet to fully regain their pre-break form, they remain on track to do so in the near future.

“Their level is about half of their normal conditioning,” Coach Adamson said. “Some are a bit behind, while others are a bit ahead. We have about a month for all of us to get on the same page before our conference races.”

This has always been Coach Adamson’s approach. Never overreacting to the present and always preparing for the future. With this in mind, Coach Adamson could not have been more satisfied with the breakout of new races Molly Lodge, a freshman.

“She had never even attempted hurdles and yet she put in a solid time,” Coach Adamson said. “She wasn’t scared by anything we asked her to do and she rewarded my faith in her throughout all five events she competed in.”

Lodge credited her extensive background in dance with keeping her grounded in the rhythm and timing of the hurdles race. However, nothing was more important to her than the guidance of her helpful teammate, senior Nicole Notarianni.

“I have to give Nicole a huge amount of credit for pretty much teaching me everything I needed to know about hurdling,” Lodge said. “I appreciated her answering my numerous questions along the way.”

\ A racer’s lack of experience, such as Lodge’s, has never diminished Coach Ringo’s faith in them, and that trend was on full display throughout the Gotham Cup.

“I’m very thankful that Coach Ringo and [Assistant Coach Keith Sharper] felt confident in me to do that many for us,” Lodge said. “I didn’t necessarily feel like I had a big responsibility on me, more that I had a very good opportunity to try and help the team. It’s definitely a privilege to do that many events so I was happy they trusted me with it.”

Because of the immense trust placed in Lodge and Coach Adamson’s entire roster, the squad remains poised to build upon their performance at Albany’s Great Dane Invitation this upcoming Friday, Jan. 28.

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