MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. ­– The Colonials are set to compete in three different events on Thursday and Friday, with RMU competing in the John Papa Invitational, the Virginia Challenge, and the Mountaineer Showcase.
 
 
JOHN PAPA INVITATIONAL
Competing on Thursday for the Colonials in the John Papa Invitational, hosted by Slipper Rock, is freshman Kara Fennell in the pole vault. Fennell, hailing from Butler, Pennsylvania, currently ranks seventh in the conference in the pole vault, with her season best coming at the Carnegie Mellon University Invitational with a mark of 3.71m.
 
 
VIRGINIA CHALLENGE
On Friday, the Colonials will compete in two events, with Julia Dill racing in the 5000m and Erin LaQuatra racing in the 3000m steeplechase at the Virginia Challenge hosted by the University of Virginia.
 
Dill, a senior from Johnstown, Pennsylvania, will compete in the 5000m for the Colonials. This will be Dill's first time during the outdoor season to compete in the 5000m. Dill currently ranks second all-time in the RMU record books in the 5000m, recording a time of 16:54.24 at the 2024 Horizon League Championships. She is just one of two Colonials to run a sub-17 in the event.
 
LaQuatra, a senior from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, will compete in the 3000m steeplechase. LaQuatra is coming off a record-breaking performance at the Bison Outdoor Classic last weekend, breaking her previous record with a new record time of 10:43.58 to place fifth in the event, marking the highest finish at the classic for RMU. Her performance at the Bison Outdoor Classic is ranked third in the Horizon League this season.
 
MOUNTAINEER SHOWCASE
Rounding out the trio of meets for the Colonials is the Mountaineer Showcase hosted by West Virginia University on Friday. The meet will take place at the track and field complex at Mylan Park in Morgantown, West Virginia.
 
Field events are slated to begin on Friday at 9:00 a.m. with the hammer throw, while running events are scheduled to begin at approximately 3:00 p.m. with the 4x100.  Closing out the events on Friday evening is the distance twilight, with distance events slated to begin at 6:30 p.m.
 
UP NEXT
Following this weekend of action, the Colonials will return home to the P3R Track & Field Complex as RMU is set to host the Benson Hodge Memorial Invitational on April 25. This will be the Colonials' lone home meet of the season before RMU heads to the Horizon League Outdoor Championships in Rochester, Michigan, on May 8^th through the 10^th.