STATEN ISLAND, NY (Dec. 6, 2024) - Georgian Court kicked off the 2024-25 track and field season and enjoyed an excellent season-opening meet. There were plenty of event-winners, personal-bests and highlights from each of the event groups. 

Sprints
• There were a lot of new faces around the Lion women sprinters. In the 60m dash both Jewel Pierrecharles and Leela McConnell ran their first indoor races with GCU. Pierrecharles finished in 27th place running 8.21 and McConnell finished in 8.69 for 46th place.
• Pierrecharles and McConnell also ran the 200m dash. McConnell bettered her time at GCU from outdoors last season running 28.60 for 52nd place. Pierrecharles was 29th in 27.20
• Molly Burns started her season with a lifetime personal-best in the 400m. She finished in 16th place running 1:04.60. Addison Rivera also ran the quarter mile in her first collegiate meet. She was 22nd in 1:06.60
• The men's sprinters saw three Lions finish within five places of each other in the 60m dash. Ivan Ramos-Lopez set a new personal-best running 7.37 for 65th place. Wayne Robinson took 67th in 7.38 and Rafael Wolf was 69th in 7.42
• Robinson also led the Lion men through 200m. He finished 24th overall running 22.80. Nicholas Jordan took 79th in 25.10. 
• Joshua Tipaldo ran the 60m and 200m. He was 98th in the 60 running 8.04 and 90th in the 200 at 26.70. 
• Brandon Rudder made his GCU debut in the 200m and 400m. He was 14th in the 400m running 51.60, which vaults him to ninth all-time at GCU in the event. He was also 38th in the 200m running 23.40.
• Also competing for the first time for GCU were Abdullah Brown and Karmjeet Nagara. Nagara was 18th at 400m in 52.00. Brown ran the 500m and did so in 1:24.30 for 19th place.

Distance
• The women had an event winner in the distance races. Amirah Beasley won the 800m opening her season with a 2:20.80 to pace the field.
• Jurnee Tuttle and Samantha Lonseth also ran the 800m distance. Tuttle was 24th in 2:49.40 and Lonseth not far behind in 28th running 3:08.10.
• Ryan Pettrow earned a top-10 finish in the mile. He ran 4:28.70 to lead the Lions. Matthew Schaub was 42nd in his first collegiate race on the track running 5:03.20.
• Nolan Kus ran for the first time for GCU on the track. He was 10th overall in the 3,000m and cracked the Lions all-time top-10 running 9:19.50 which is ninth-best in program history.
• Pettrow was one spot behind Kus in the 3K, his second event of the day. He finished in 9:30.40.
• Joe Jamolawicz was 15th at 3,000m running 9:47.60 and Luke McCormick 21st in 10:28.00.

Throws
• What an opener it was for senior Robbie Babson. He won the shot put throwing 52-2.75. Babson was in fifth heading into the finals before a massive fourth attempt moved him to first. He bettered that on his fifth to win the competition.
• Malicah Etienne also had a top-five finish. He was fourth in the shot put throwing 49-5. That mark came on his first throw of the day.
• Guius Dabey competed for the first time at GCU and placed 15th in the shot put throwing 40-3. 
• In the women's shot put, newcomers Kaydence Fischer and Adrianna Fodera needed just one legal mark to earn top-10 finishes. Fodera took third overall with her throw of 35-10. It came on her third throw and was her only legal mark.
• Fischer's best and only mark came on her very first throw. She placed ninth with her throw of 33-11.75.
• Fischer and Fodera came back to throw the weight. Fischer was just outside the top-10 in 11th overall with a mark of 38-1. Fodera was 18th throwing 32-8 on her first attempt.
• Chiamaka Wokocha set a big personal-best in the weight throw on her first throw of the season. That mark of 44-5 is just outside the Lions all-time top-10 and placed her fifth in the event.
• In the men's weight throw, Anthony Lorenzo took 15th throwing 41-2 and Guius Dabney threw 32-2 for 25th place. 

Jumps
• Julian Rodriguez competed for the first time after missing much of the 2023-24 season. He tied for second in the pole vault jumping 14-5.25 which is a new personal-best and sees him overtake third in Lions history.
• Ivan Ramos-Lopez also set a personal-best in the pole vault clearing 12-5.5 and moved up to fifth all-time. 
• In the women's long jump, Malama Toure got off one legal jump, it came on her final jump and placed her 17th in the competition with a mark of 16-4. 
• Transfer Tishanna Cohen had her first meet as a Lion. She set a collegiate-best in the triple jump with her mark of 36-5.5 which put her third in the meet and immediately puts her sixth all-time in GCU history. 

Up Next
• This one meet will have to suffice for a while. Georgian Court isn't back on the track again for another month. They return to action in January, 2025 for the St. Thomas Aquinas Spartan Invite, once again held at Ocean Breeze in Staten Island.