Julian Saad Breaks School Record in 3,000-meters

On Saturday, Feb. 4, the Fordham track and field team was split between the New Balance Invitational and the Tribute to Charley Torpey Invitational. The Tribute to Charley Torpey Invitational was held at Mackal Fieldhouse in Kingston, Rhode Island to honor the late La Salle cross-country and track coach who passed away over the summer. Three event wins in the women's competition led the way for Fordham. Junior Courtnay Newman, clearing a career-high and ECAC qualifying height of 5'7", won the high jump event. Sophomore Anisa Arsenault placed first in the 3,000 meter run in 9:59.80. The final winner for the Rams was the distance medley relay team, winning the event in a season-best time of 12:23.47. In the men's competition, Fordham had 11 top-five finishes, led by senior Nick Delligatti and the 4x400 relay team. Delligatti placed second in the 500-meter run in 1:05.79, while the relay team also placed second in 3:32.83.

The rest of the Fordham men's indoor track & field team competed at the 2012 New Balance College Invitational at the Armory. Junior Julian Saad led the Rams, pacing the team with a school-record performance in the 3,000 meters.  Saad placed eighth in the 3,000-meters competition with a time of 8:13.88, breaking Pat Lavery's previous school-record time of 8:18 in 1989. On Monday, Feb. 6, he was named the Atlantic 10 Men's Indoor Track & Field Performer of the Week. Saad also qualified for the IC4A Championship. Villanova's Mathew Mildenhall won the event in a time of 8:06.23. The Rams had two top-six finishers, with senior Kevin Fitzgerald placing fourth in a season-best and career-best time of 1:51.12 and junior John Cosgrove taking sixth in a career-best time of 1:51.66. Fitzgerald's time also qualifies him for the IC4A Championship while Cosgrove improved on his previous IC4A qualifying time. The other event for Fordham was the distance medley relay. The team of junior Sean Atkinson, Cosgrove, sophomore Sam Houston and Fitzgerald took seventh in a season-best time of 9:53.41. Texas A&M won the event in a time of 9:29.71, followed by Oklahoma (9:30.13), Southern Connecticut State (9:48.22), Iona (9:48.78), Texas-San Antonio (9:49.90), Columbia (9:50.87), Fordham (9:53.41), Kansas (9:57.89), Iowa State (9:58.54) and Duke (9:58.80).

The Fordham track and field team will next be in action on Feb. 10-11, when the Rams travel to Boston, Massachusetts for the Valentine's Day Classic at the BU Track & Tennis Center.