The Rowan women’s track & field expanded upon their hot start to the season by a signature performance at the Danny Curran Classic this past weekend in Chester, Pennsylvania.

Coming as no surprise, freshman Molly Lodge laid claim to first place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.43 and an All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Championships (AARTFC) qualifying finish. The same routine excellence was in store for senior Nicole Notarianni in the 100-meter hurdle, locking up the best finish at 14.79.  

A trio of Profs racers made an impact in the 400-meter contest, with freshman Nevaeh Lorjuste winning the race with a time of 57.45. Juniors Kat Pedersen and Amanthy Sosa Caceres finished close behind Lorjuste, locking down fourth and fifth place with marks of 58.94 and 59.50.

Junior Sha’Lynn Clark and freshman Anna Sasse performed well in the 800-meter race, clocking in at 2:21.54 and 2:22.89. 

The stars of the show were found in the 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams, who both emerged victorious from their events. Notarianni, Lorjuste, Lodge and senior Promise Fadahunsi composed the first winning squad that finished at 49.43. For the latter squad, Lodge, Lorjuste, Sosa Caceres and Pedersen had the honors of besting the competition with a finish of 3:54.69.

Wrapping things up on the field side of the competition, senior Olivia Scattergood secured third in both of her throwing contests, putting out tosses of 35.60 and 46.15 in the discus and hammer throw. 

Given the elite level of success produced by the Profs at such an early stage in the season, Head Coach Derick “Ringo” Adamson was more than pleased by their performance. 

“They are well on their way,” Coach Adamson said. “All it takes is one or two special performances to spark a fire. They just gotta keep going out, doing the work, and making the necessary sacrifices.”

Molly Lodge is no stranger to putting forth these types of performances. She has been stringing together victories from the moment she joined the squad and has not slowed down one bit. Her source of success: a remarkable level of fitness. 

“I feel like I’m super in shape right now,” Lodge said. “Now, it is all about maintaining the fitness I already have and just putting it together on race day while also continuing to work hard at practice and gain more speed and endurance.”

That adjustment has proven to be equally routine for Nicole Notarianni. As the saying goes, this is not her first rodeo, and she is well-accustomed to making the transition from indoor to outdoor track on numerous occasions. 

“There is a different strategy on how to run the race because there are less turns and in hurdles, there are five more hurdles added,” Notarianni said. “At the end of the day, our team hopes to work toward capturing an NJAC [New Jersey Athletic Conference] title and bringing as many girls as possible to nationals.” 

The Profs’ next opportunity to aspire to those goals will come in the form of two events this Friday, April 8, at the Temple Invitational in Philadelphia and Saturday, April 9, at the Osprey Opening at Stockton. 

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