Orlando, FL | Rowan, NJ - The Wagner College track & field team split this weekend as select members traveled to Orlando, FL for the UCF Knights Invite from Friday, March 22 to Saturday, March 23. Meanwhile, other members of the program competed at the Oscar Moore Invite in Rowan, NJ.

The UCF Knights Invite saw 40 men's and 40 women's teams compete throughout the two-day event. At the Oscar Moore Invite, athletes from the 15 different teams and clubs competed at the one-day event.

At the UCF Invite, senior Anthony Bentivegna placed first out of 53 finishers in the 5000m run. The Staten Island native finished the event in 15:02.42, beating second-place Zach Fenton of West Florida by just under one second. 

Senior Jason Marchese broke the Wagner College outdoor track & field record in the 400m dash, which was held previously by Thomas Corel who finished the event in 47.39 at the Princeton Invite on May 14, 2022.

Marchese crossed the finish line in 47.05 for a seventh place finish out of 84 finishers. Marchese also placed sixth in the 400m hurdles with a time of 53.66.

Graduate student Dominic Palermo and senior Johnny Sokoll ran in the 1500m. Palermo placed  seventh with a time of 3:49.53 as Sokoll finished in 17th, clocking in at a time of 3:56.09.

In the field, freshman Jack Mason placed sixth overall, second for freshman, in the long jump with a distance of 7.14m. Seniors Ryan Lane and Kharlin Watkins would place 10th and 11th, respectively, out of the 36 participants. 

On the women's side, junior Gia Comerford placed 10th in the 1500m run with a time of 4:35.39. Sophomore Laura Trenado placed closely behind with a time of 4:40.61 and a 17th place finish. 

Both Trenado and Comerford ran in the 800m. Trenado placed 14th while Comerord crossed the finish line in 16th out of the 73 runners. In both the 1500m and the 800m, Trenado and Comerford set new personal-bests.

Junior Ruth-Ann Chambers placed 19th in the 400m dash with a time of 56.95. The Kingston, Jamaica native also placed 33rd in the 200m dash with a time of 25.06. 

Freshman June Fernandez also participated in the 200m dash, finishing in 27th with a time of 24.82.

At the Oscar Moore Invitational, sophomore Franklin Simms threw the discus 43.17m for a first place finish in the event. Simms won the event by over three meters and only using two attempts.

Freshman Andrew Wood finished the long jump in second with a distance of 5.95m, falling behind first place by only .19m. 

For the women's team, sophomore Madison Petricevic participated in the javelin throw and completed a mark of 30.90m on her second attempt. Petricevic placed third out of 17 competitors in the event.

Next up, the Wagner College track & field program will split again as some members will head to the Princeton Invite from Friday, March 29 to Saturday, March 30. Meanwhile, other members of the program will travel to West Long Branch for the Monmouth Invite from Friday, March 29 to Saturday, March 30.