CHESTER, Pa. – As another strong Widener men's and women's indoor track and field season comes to a close, the Pride will have four representatives compete in the 2024 NCAA DIII Indoor Track and Field Championships.
This year's competition will be between Friday, March 8 and Saturday, March 9 in Virginia Beach, Va.
Gabby Nye and
Maria Muzzarelli will represent the women's team.
Samuel Knowles and
Matayo McGraw will represent the men's team.
Nye broke some of her personal bests in the early weeks of 2024. She set new records in the mile (5:00.87, now a Widener record), 5000 meters (17:41.04), and 3000 meters (10:14.19, another Widener record). In two of those races, Nye came in first place. At the Tufts National Qualifying Meet on March 2, she came within milliseconds of her personal best in the mile.
Muzzarelli had another solid indoor season. In most of the races she competed in, Muzzarelli came in first. She recently broke the Widener 60-meter indoor record at the Indoor Track and Field MAC Championships. Her time of 7.63 seconds is .17 seconds faster than second place in the Widener history books. Muzzarelli also was part of the quartet that placed first in the 4x200 at the Plex Shootout (1:46.75). Muzzarelli's time of 25.67 in 200 meters was .01 seconds short of tying the school record.
McGraw has been a standout for the Pride in his first season. He was named Field Athlete of the Year and Rookie of the Year. At the AARTFC Championships on March 1-2, McGraw's triple jump of 14.79m was .40 meters further than second place. It also places him in third in the Widener record books. McGraw set two personal bests at the MAC Championships in high jump (1.92m) and long jump (6.21m).
Finally, Knowles set a career-best 7.16 seconds in 60 meters at the Moravian Indoor Meet, as well as 1:54.88 in 800 meters at the Fastrack Season Opener. He came in second place in 400 meters (48.67) at the AARTFC Championships last week. Knowles was a part of the first-place teams for 4x200 and 4x400 at the MAC Championships.
The women's team won their third conference title at the aforementioned MAC Championships. It was also their second consecutive conference win. That gives them MAC wins in 1994, 2023, and 2024.
Nye is from Shippensburg, Pa. Muzzarelli is a native of Buena, N.J. Knowles is from Ephrata, Pa. McGraw is a native of Bel Air, Md.
