The Ithaca College track and field teams had an eventful weekend, participating in the Penn Relays, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania, and the Big Red Invitational hosted by Cornell University.
The women’s team sent five individuals and two relay teams to the Penn Relays on April 28, competing as one of the only NCAA Division III teams at the meet.
Junior Katherine Pitman broke the outdoor school record in the pole vault event with a height of 3.90 meters, placing third in the final. Pitman was the only Division III athlete accepted into the championship round, finishing behind two Duke University athletes.
Junior Brandy Smith also competed as the lone Division III athlete in the discus event. She was able to lock fourth overall in the event with a mark of 49.05 meters, finishing just .07 meters behind an athlete from Penn State University.
Senior Alex Rechen also competed in the pole vault, finishing in 12th overall and fourth among Division III competitors with a height of 3.50 meters.
Sophomore Denise Ibarra broke her personal best time by 11 seconds in the steeplechase event, in 11:06.96. Ibarra finished the event in 21st overall out of 37.
Sophomore Taryn Cordani also broke her personal best record, shaving off 12.5 seconds in the 5,000 meter run and set a school record with a time of 16:56.76. She finished 22nd overall and fourth out of Division III runners.
The Big Red Invitational also heeded success for the women’s team.
Smith continued her dominance this season, finishing first in the shot put with a measurement of 11.54 meters. Smith also finished second in the discus throw with a length of 43.75 meters, also meeting the Eastern College Athletic Conference standards. Smith finished her day with a fifth-place finish in the hammer throw with a mark of 43.61 meters.
Pitman finished first in the pole vault with a height of 4.10 meters. Rechen also competed in the pole vault, finishing seventh in the event with a height of 3.60 meters.
Junior Natalie Meyer reached a height of 1.60 meters in the high jump, good enough for third overall.
The 4×100 meter relay team of freshman Lusmer Quintana and seniors Sarah Werner, Elizabeth Dowling and Eliza Dewart claimed first place, beating out Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania with a time of 50.01 seconds. Dewart also claimed second place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.42 seconds. Quintana finished third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.67 seconds.
The men’s side sent three individual athletes and a relay team to the Penn Relays.
Seniors Stephen Gomez and Sawyer Hitchcock both participated in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Hitchcock finished 19th overall in the event, clocking in at 9:18.66 while Stephen Gomez finished 33rd with a time of 9:39.53.
Senior Andrew Brandt participated in the high jump event and finished 20th overall with a height of 1.96 meters.
At Cornell, Brandt competed in the high jump and finished fourth while junior Gabe Shakour also finished fourth in the javelin, representing the top finishers for the Bombers at the invitational. Brandt cleared a height of 2.05 meters, while Shakour threw 47.84 meters. Junior Andrew Ward also competed in the high jump, finishing eighth in the event with a 1.90 meter jump.
Junior Brandon Leary finished fifth in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 58.86 seconds. Junior Larry Cass, sophomore Noah Cohen, and freshman Kyle Davis all finished sixth place in their respective events. Case threw a mark of 46.17 meters in the hammer throw, while Cohen ran for a time of 17.18 seconds in the 110 meter hurdles and Davis leaped for 12.60 meters in the triple jump.
Freshman Jake Dombek competed in the 100 and 200 meters with times of 11.43 seconds and 22.96 seconds, respectively, finishing seventh in both events.
The Bombers will be back in action May 6 at 2 p.m. when they travel to Troy, New York for the NYSCTC Championships.
