The Ithaca College track and field teams competed in two different meets on Jan. 13. The majority of the team traveled to the NYC Armory for the Towson Invitational while the pole vaulters traveled to Reno, Nevada to compete in the National Pole Vault Summit.
The National Pole Vault Summit showcased four bomber athletes. Senior Katherine Pitman and freshman Julia Nomberg represented the women’s team while senior David Dorsey and sophomore Joseph Nally were there on behalf of the men’s team. Pitman won her event, “College Women 1”, with a cleared height of 4.15 meters, beating several Division I athletes in her group. Nomberg tied for ninth in “College Women 2” after vaulting 3.20 meters.
On the men’s side, Dorsey finished seventh in “College Men 2” with a vault of 4.15 meters. Nally also competed in “College Men 2”, but did not place.
While the vaulters were in Nevada, the rest of the team was competing in New York. The Blue and Gold men had 13 top-eight finishers across all competitions. Sophomore Daniel Harden-Marshall was the runner-up in the first heat of the 400-meter dash. In the pole vault, junior Martin Desmery took third with a vault of 4.20 meters while sophomore Connor Florczyk took fifth place with a vault of 4.05 meters.
Junior Derek Howes placed fourth in heat two of the 500-meter dash and sophomore Chris Tinti finished in fifth place in the 3,000-meter run. The 4×400 relay team, which consists of Harden-Marshall, Howes, senior Gerardo Munoz and sophomore Robert Greenwald, finished in fourth place. Junior Alex Arika finished fifth in the triple jump.
For the women’s team, which is ranked No. 4 in the country, senior Denise Ibarra stood out by winning the 3,000-meter run, defeating 14 Division I athletes with a time of 10:18.54. The 4×400-meter relay team of junior Brittany Swarthout, sophomores Alexandria Rheaume and Jessica Competiello, and freshman Jamie Sheppard, took fifth place. Rheaume finished seventh in the 400-meter dash as well.
Sophomore Estelle Yedynak took sixth place in the high jump, while freshman Juliann Terry finished seventh in the pole vault. Competiello finished ninth in the second heat of the 800-meter run. Senior Caitlin Noonan finished ninth in the weight throw.
The Bombers are back in action for the Ithaca Home Quad meet at 1 p.m. on Jan. 20 at the Athletics and Events Center.
