With the sun in the sky and fans in the stands April 21, the Ithaca College men’s and women’s track teams hosted their first home meet in a decade on the newly built Egan Family Track and Field Complex. The Bombers welcomed Syracuse University, Cornell University, SUNY Cortland, SUNY Oswego, Keystone College and the Rochester Institute of Technology as they set some season highs both on the track and on throws.
With the facility being brand new, every event winner established an inaugural record. But beyond the historic backdrop, the meet served as a critical tune-up for both programs — generating a string of personal bests, season highs and Liberty League Championship Tournament qualifiers heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
Head women’s coach Jennifer Potter said the meet was designed to be low-stakes, as it is sandwiched between two weekend meets, but productive.
“The Tuesday meet is an opportunity for people to get an extra competition date,” Potter said. “This kind of acts like our workout day in between the two meets. But in the end, you walk away with some really good things, because there’s not a lot of pressure.”
On the women’s side, sophomore sprinter Aynisha McQuillar set the tone early, winning the 100-meter dash in 12.44 seconds while leading a Bombers sweep of the top four spots. Senior Rachel Larson followed with a dominant performance in the 100-meter hurdles, winning in 13.80 seconds over four Cornell athletes. Her season best of 13.76 is currently ranked third nationally as she chases a fourth All-American honor.
The Bombers also swept the women’s 4×100 relay, placing first and second. The winning squad of sophomore Marykate Rudnicki, Larson, junior Ava Butler and McQuillar crossed in 48.93 seconds.
Graduate student Lily Seyfert headlined the field events, sweeping the shot put, discus and hammer throw — recording a personal best of 52.70 meters in the hammer. As team captain, Seyfert now holds all three inaugural throwing records at the new facility. First-year student Anneliese Hubbard won the long jump with a season-best 4.90 meters, and junior Charlotte Powell won the javelin with a personal-best 36.23 meters.
On the men’s side, first-year student Anik Vossschulte provided the day’s standout performance, breaking the 11-second barrier in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.99 seconds. Junior Max Boreland took second at 11.02, while his twin brother, junior Alex Boreland finished fifth at 11.28 in his season debut after returning from a hamstring injury — a time that qualified both of them for the Liberty League Championships.
The coaches highlighted the location of the new track as a positive for the team.
“It’s just nice to be home,” Potter said. “When you’re a student at Ithaca, you’re proud to be here and competing at home. You can walk out of your dorm or come from class and compete.”
Vossschulte, Max Boreland, first-year sprinter Jacob Antilety and senior Matt Lokshin later combined in the 4×100 relay for a season-best 42.19 seconds, finishing second to Division I Cornell. In the 200–meter, sophomore Damian Simmonds ran 22.65 for second place. Junior George Nilson posted a personal best of 51.37 in the 400–meter dash — his first open 400 of the outdoor season — qualifying for the Liberty League Championships in both the 400-meter dash and 400-meter hurdles.
In the field, first-year vaulter Raf Campanile cleared an outdoor personal best of 4.55 meters in the pole vault for second place, and first-year students Blake Kinnaird and Everett Feinhals also recorded personal bests, with Feinhals earning his first Liberty League qualifier at 3.65 meters. In the javelin, first-year students Daniel Musilli and Tyler Duffin threw season bests of 46.26 and 46.06 meters respectively to finish second and third.
The meet also featured an IC organization 4×100 relay open to clubs and teams across campus, including field hockey, women’s wrestling and men’s swim and dive. The strength and conditioning team won with a time of 48.80 seconds.
Coach Potter said the facility’s first home meet exceeded expectations, crediting the preparation of her staff and facilities team.
“We’ve been planning and preparing for this for a long time,” Potter said. “It went great. I’m super excited that we were able to do it.”
Both the men’s and women’s teams will travel to Rochester on April 25 to compete in the St. John Fisher Cardinal Classic, their final meet before the Liberty League Championship Tournament.
