April 5, 2009

PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle track and field team braved reported 50 mile per hour wind gusts, but still turned in a few strong performances at Saturday's Penn Invitational at Franklin Field. Actual times suffered due to the wind, but several Explorers finished high in their races.

Many of the short- and mid-distance runners participated in races today and were led by Joe Fedorowicz and Meaghan Hobson's high finishes in the 800 meter races.

Fedorowicz ran to ninth place out of 92 runners in the 800 meter run. He clocked a 1:55.87 in the effort. Hobson ran a 2:15.32 for fifth place out of 68 runners.

Colin Barrett and David Laratta also ran in the 800 meters with both also finishing in the top third. Barrett raced a 1:58.01 while Laratta ran a 1:58.63 for 27th and 33rd, respectively.

Maureen Benner and Kellilyn Fierras finished in the top third of the women's 800 along with Hobson. Benner clocked 2:23.04 for 20th and Fierras crossed in 2:24.12 for 21st.

Also placing high in their race were David Alfano, Robert Ricketts and Rollin Deas in the 1,500 meter run. All three finished in the top quarter (16th, 17th and 22nd, respectively, out of 80). Alfano ran 4:04.44, while Ricketts and Deas ran 4:06.17 and 4:09.01.

On the women's side of the 1,500 meters, Samantha Gallagher placed 17th out of a field of 77 runners by clocking a 4:52.33.

Jalessa Graham placed ninth out of 52 in the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.55 and ninth out of 64 in the 200 meter dash with a 25.77 mark.

A few of the relay teams also placed high. The men's 4x400 finished second out of 26 teams with a 3:20.43, just a few seconds off the IC4A time. The women's 4x400 placed fifth out of 16 with a 4:00.21.

Next up for the Explorers is a home dual meet versus Temple on Thursday, starting at 5:00 PM. Check back here at GoExplorers.com for more information on the meet.