The men’s and women’s track and field teams had exceptional performances and multiple personal best records at the Bomber Quad, their first home meet of the season, and the Cornell Upstate Challenge.
On Jan. 22, both squads placed first at the Bomber Quad meet, beating SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Brockport and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The women had 10 first-place finishes, helping them win by 25 points.
Senior Sarah Werner qualified for an Eastern College Athletic Conference standard with her first-place performance in the 60-meter dash. Junior Eliza Dewart claimed first in two events: the 200-meter dash and the 400-meter dash. Dewart also qualified for ECAC’s in the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.77.
Sophomore Sierra Grazia also earned a top-place finish in the 500-meter dash with an ECAC qualifying time, crossing the finish line in 1:21.40.
Junior Natalie Meyer won the high jump event and also qualified for ECAC’s with a mark of 1.60 meters. Junior Brandy Smith won the weight throw with an ECAC mark, reaching 16.76 meters.
For the men’s squad, senior Andrew Brandt was the highlight of the day. Brandt set a facility record and personal best in high jump. His jump of 2.05 meters gave him a top-place finish and tied him with the fifth-best mark in Division III.
Senior Aaron Matthias took first in the 60-meter dash and was runner-up in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.79 to qualify him for ECAC’s.
Senior De’Marquis Malone also qualified for ECAC’s in two events, both of which he took first in the meet. Malone reached 6.86 meters in long jump and 14.00 meters in triple jump.
At the Cornell Upstate Challenge on Jan. 23, junior Katherine Pitman broke her personal best and school record in pole vault for the second time this season, taking first place in the process. Pitman reached a height of 3.90 meters, which is now the top height for all of Division III. Senior Alex Rechen also competed and earned a fifth place finish with a height of 3.30 meters. Three athletes from Division I schools separated Pitman and Rechen.
The women’s team will be headed to Boston University on Jan. 29–30 to compete in the John Thomas Terrier Classic and to SUNY Brockport on Jan. 30 for the SUNY Brockport Golden Eagle Invitational. The men’s squad will compete at SUNY Brockport and the Robert Kane Invitational at Cornell University, both on Jan. 30.
