The Ithaca College track and field teams competed in the annual Bomber Invitational Feb. 4 and 5 in the Athletics and Events Center.
Jennifer Potter, the women’s head coach, said the team performed well in the meet.
“We got a lot of great performances across the board,” Potter said. “That’s what we were looking for in the quality of the meet. We also had a lot of qualifiers for postseason so we’re definitely heading in the right direction.”
The event was highlighted by senior Katherine Pitman’s win in the women’s pole vault, where she set a Division III indoor record with a height of 4.22 meters. Pitman broke Ramapo College’s Michelle Favre’s record of 4.21 meters set at the 2013 ECAC Championships.
Freshman Bethany Cripps earned third place in the women’s pole vault with a height of 3.76 meters, and junior David Dorsey tied for fifth place in the men’s pole vault with a height of 4.40 meters.
In the women’s mile, sophomore Emilie Mertz came in second with a time of 5:13.16. Sophomore Britney Swarthout finished fourth with a time of 1:21.24, and freshman Lindsey Castle earned 12th place at 1:24.04 in the 500 meter dash.
The Bombers team of junior Sierra Grazia, freshman Alexandria Rheaume, freshman Sarah Rudge, and junior Taryn Cordani took home first place in the women’s distance medley with a total time of 12:20.43.
Senior Brandy Smith won the women’s 20-pound weight throw with a distance of 17.66 meters. Senior Francesca Boylan earned eighth place with a 14.04 meter toss.
Smith also won the women’s shot put with a 13.77 meter throw, breaking the facility record of 13.72 meters, which she set in December. Senior Francesca Boylan came in sixth place at 11.69 meters and freshman Kendall Wellauer placed eighth with a 11.42 meter throw.
Freshman Estelle Yedynak earned eighth place in the women’s high jump at 1.55 meters. In the long jump, sophomore Jordan Beckley placed seventh with a distance of 5.08 meters.
In the men’s mile run, Bomber senior Sean Phillips came in first with a time of 4:15.96, and sophomore John Blake came in 9th ninth with a time of 4:34.89. Freshman Jeff Montgomery placed fourth with a time of 2:38.15 as Ithaca’s only representative in the 1000 meter run.
Senior Larry Cass took home second place for the Bombers with a distance of 15.63 meters in the men’s 35-pound toss. Cass also finished 18th in the shot put at 12.85 meters. Bombers senior Jesse Capellaro came in third in the men’s 3000 meter run with a time of 8:55.33, trailed by junior Tim Chappell who clocked in fifth with a time of 9:01.35.
In the men’s 4×400 relays, the team of freshman Dan Harden-Marshall, junior Gerardo Munoz-Celada, freshman Rob Greenwald, and sophomore Daniel Hart finished fourth with a time of 3:26.91.
Harden-Marshall and Munoz-Celada also placed in the 400 meter dash, with Harden-Marshall finishing seventh with a time of 51.54 seconds, and Munoz-Celada taking 11th place at 52.15.
Senior Andrew Ward earned 10th place in the men’s high jump with a height of 1.88 meters. Sophomore Alex Arika placed 7th in the men’s triple jump with a distance of 12.98 meters.
The track and field teams will compete in the Empire 8 Championships at 10 a.m. Feb. 11 in Utica, New York.
