Marcia McCord Leads Ithaca College to State Title
Rochester, N.Y.—The Bombers won the New York State Collegiate Track Conference (NYSCTC) Championship Saturday, finishing with 271 points, 92.5 more than any other team. The state title was Ithaca’s second straight. Junior Marcia McCord (Rancocas Valley/Mount Holly, N.J.) set new school records in the triple jump and 200-meter dash, winning both events. She was named Track Athlete of the Year. Head coach Jennifer Potter picked up Coach of the Year honors.
McCord took the triple jump at 11.73 meters (38-6”), more than half a meter farther than any other competitor. She broke her own school record of 11.65 meters, set at the 2009 ECAC Championships. McCord’s jump was the second-longest in the nation this season. She won the 200-meter dash at 25.72, qualifying for the ECAC Championships and breaking her won school record of 25.73, set in 2008.
McCord also won the 55-meter dash, running an ECAC-caliber 7.34.
Graduate student Lauren Koppel (Southside/Rockville Center) also set a school record, running 8.44 to win the 55-meter hurdles. She broke her won school record of 8.54, and provisionally qualified for the NCAA CHampionships. Koppel also earned all-state honors in the triple jump (7th, 10.76 meters) and shot put (7th, 10.73) Saturday.
In the pole vault, junior Kristen DeStefano (Boicevill/Onteora) was victorious at 3.50 meters (11-5 3/4"), matching the provisional standard for the NCAA Championships. Sophomore Julie Orlando (Haverford/Havertown, Pa.) placed second at 3.35 meters (10-11 3/4") and qualified for ECAC's.
Freshman Ebonie Howard (North Country Union/North Troy, Vt.) won the 500-meter dash at 1:20.38, with classmate Katie Ahart (Candor/Candor) second at 1:20.85. Both qualified for the ECAC Championships.
The Bombers had runner-up performances in two distance events. In the mile run, junior Kate Leugers (Rice Memorial/Richmond, Vt.) ran 5:08.54, while freshman Jenn Randall (Cincinnatus Central/Cincinnatus) ran 2:19.69 in the 800-meter run. Both qualified for ECAC’s.
Sophomore Heidi Baumbach (Lake Placid/Lake Placid) also qualified for the ECAC Championships in the mile, running 5:14.31 to place fifth. In the 1,000-meter run, senior Sarah Moskey (Berlin/Berlin, Conn.) and freshman Meghan Shanley (Conestoga/Berwyn, Pa.) both ran ECAC caliber times, running 3:06.36 and 3:08.72, respectively. The two finished fourth and sixth overall.
Ithaca’s 3,200-meter relay team of Ahart, Baumbach, Shanley and sophomore Molly Brown (North Penn/Landsdale, Pa.) was state champion with an ECAC-qualifying time of 9:51.50.
The Bomber’s 1,600-meter also earned all-state honors, placing third at 4:11.18. Howard, Randall, junior Emily Moran (Walkill/Walkill) and sophomore Rebecca Coffman (Indian Hills/Franklin Lakes, N.J.) comprised the team.