by RIKKILYNN SHIELDS, Editor
During winter break, Jaspers are everywhere. Some study abroad, others travel with their L.O.V.E. Trips, some stay home and the athletes continue working hard and preparing for games, meets and upcoming seasons.
The men’s basketball team beat Hofstra University on Dec. 20 and Fairfield University on Dec. 30 with scores of 63-61 and 61-58. The team started the new year on the right foot, beating Marist Collegew at the McCann Arena 101-96 on Jan. 2.
The team ended up dropping their next two games to Monmouth and Rider before beating Fairfield again by a score of 59-53 on Jan. 11 and Siena by a score of 72-61 a couple of days later.
The women’s basketball team beat Saint Peter’s 76-64 on Dec. 28, but fell to Quinnipiac on New Year’s Eve. However, like the men’s team, the women’s team also started the new year off with a win, beating Canisius 58-39 on their home court and beating them again at Koessler Athletic Center a week later with a close score of 59-56.
After an extremely close 65-64 loss against Niagara on Jan. 13, the women’s team beat Iona 67-63 at home on Jan. 18. The win improved their overall record to 7-11 and their MAAC record to 4-3. They will play Siena on Friday, Jan. 26 at 7:00 p.m.
The Manhattan College track and field team topped seven events in the Mike Massone Invitational held at Fordham University on Jan. 12. Lisa Fajardo won the 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:10.51, which was about 52 seconds faster than the second place finisher.
Alexandra Preckajlo, Lasma Padedze and Cheyenne Lewis secured the top three spots in the women’s shot put event, all with distances that were over 11 meters.
The Jaspers also placed first in the men’s shot put thanks to junior Ryan Addlesberger posting 16.29 meters. Senior Charlene Pohl hit 5.55 meters, winning first place in the long jump for the women’s team, along with sophomore Brenton Foster who earned first in the same event for the men’s team with a 2.10-meter high jump. In December, Foster broke the school record with a 2.24-meter jump, and currently holds the third-highest jump in NCAA Division I.
On Jan. 13th, the track and field team headed to New Haven, Connecticut for the Yale Invitational, with sprinters topping the leaderboard. Senior Paige Chapman came in first place in both the 60-meter dash, with a time of 7.65, and the 200-meter race, with a time of 25.55.
Junior Jasmine Davis secured the top spot in the 400-meter race with a time of 57.69 and junior Mikeisha Kelly did the same in the 500-meter race with a time of 1:18.09; more than two seconds faster than the next competitor. Senior Kelly Gorman also won the 800-meter for Manhattan, coming in at 2:18.13.
For the men’s team, freshman Rory Grady won the 3000-meter race with a time of 9:14.19, followed by fellow freshman Jemar Ortega, who clocked in right behind him at 9:18.93. Senior Akash Patel, junior Kyle Watkins, senior Wilmer Jovel-Reyes and freshman Alexander Moore came in first in the men’s 4×400 relay with a time of 3:21.81.
From Jan. 3 to Jan. 10, the swim team traveled to Malibu, CA for a training trip. The men’s team participated in the Chris Knorr Invitational at California Lutheran University. The women’s team fell 145-97 to Pepperdine in a dual meet on Saturday, Jan. 6. Senior Alexandra Hutzler and junior Kathryn Voitik each picked up a win. Sophomore Kali Nembach also had two top-three finishes in the meet.
Following the fall against Pepperdine, the women’s team also fell to Sacred Heart 126-77. However, the men’s and women’s swim team beat Baruch College in a dual meet on Jan. 15 at the ARC Aquatic Center. The men’s team secured a 115-81 victory, while the women’s team won 120-70. The Jaspers don’t attend their next meet until Saturday, Jan. 27 when they host Iona on Senior Day at Riverdale Country Day.
While track and field, basketball and swimming and diving continue to play, lacrosse began their training last Wednesday for the upcoming season. The Jasper’s athletic teams are back in action and ready for a great year.