The College of Staten Island showed promise as they participated in CUNYAC Indoor Track Championships this past weekend. The team, not yet varsity, participated as a club and gave some teams a good run.
The women kicked it off for the Dolphins in first event of the day, the 60 meter dash. CSI’s Rebecca Jo Lui passed the finish in 8.99 seconds for 11th place and Goodnews Nkama finished at 9.73 seconds for a 17th place finish. Next up, was the 200 meter dash. Though finishing in 13th place with a 30.26 finish, Liu had a great race placing second in her heat. Nkama followed with a time of 33.4 seconds for 21st place while Kubra Shirazi was right behind her in 23rd place with a 44.64 time.
Shirazi later partook in the 400 meter dash for a 1:41.54 finish good enough for 18th place. In the one mile run, Jackie Jamaleddine crossed the line at 6:42.99 at 10th place while Nkama followed her at 7:03.42 for 13th place.
Over on the men’s side, Andrew Pate started things off for the men on right foot. Pate finished the 800 meter dash with a 2:05.26 time good enough for 6th overall and 3rd amongst senior colleges earning himself a medal. Shawn Cybulska touched in at 2:44.35 for a 17th place finish. In the one mile run, Cybulska finished just over 6 minutes at 6:00.05 for 17th place.
The most impressive event of the say was the 4×400 meter relay for the men. The team of Chris Galea, Matt Pfaff, Chris Gonzalez and Pate scored at 3:39.03 for an 8th place finish. The foursome was in the second heat alone with Hunter College. The two teams were neck and neck with each pass of the baton making it an exciting, down to the wire event. The Dolphins finished 1.03 seconds behind Hunter but no doubt they made their mark as competitors.
“I don’t think any other team expected the way CSI performed,” says proud Head Coach Robert Russo, “Especially our men’s 4×400 team.” Of the teams’ future: “I really think were going to make an impact in the upcoming years.”