Ithaca Women’s T&F Defends its Empire 8 Title, Claims Fourth Straight
Rochester, N.Y.--The sixth-ranked Ithaca women's track & field team won its fourth consecutive Empire 8 indoor title on Sunday, having claimed 104 points more than second-place host Rochester Institute of Technology. Ithaca has won the indoor conference crown seven of the eight times it has been contested.
Winning 11 of the meet’s 15 events, Ithaca athletes met NCAA provisional qualifiers in four events, seven matched ECAC qualifying marks, while breaking three Empire 8 records and setting multiple season-bests.
Junior Emma Dewart(Barker/Barker) and senior Marcia McCord (Rancocas Valley/Mount Holly, N.J.) earned athlete of the meet honors as Dewart tallied Empire 8 Field Athlete of the Meet and McCord Empire 8 Track Athlete of the Meet.
Dewart, a three-time indoor All-American, hit three NCAA provisional qualifiers in winning the high jump, long jump and the 55-meter hurdles. She set season-bests of 5.51 meters in the long jump and 8.55 in the hurdles, while clearing 1.67 meters in the high jump. Dewart’s long jump set a new Empire 8 record.
Sophomore Amanda Rissmeyer (Watchung/Millington, N.J.) was one of five Ithaca athletes to finish in second, having cleared a season-best jump of 1.63 meters in the high jump.
McCord, a four-time outdoor All-American, met the Bombers’ fourth NCAA provisional mark of the day by winning the triple jump with an Empire 8 record distance of 11.41 meters. She also won the 55 and 200 dashes with times of 7.31 and 26.15 meters. Both met ECAC marks and are season-best times, with the short sprint setting a new Empire 8 record.
Ithaca junior Julie Orlando (Haverford/Havertown, Pa.) hit an ECAC-qualifying mark of 3.20 meters to win the pole vault, while senior Kristen DeStefano (Boiceville/Onteora) finished second in the event clearing 3.05 meters.
The Bombers won four additional events on the track.
Junior Heidi Baumbach (Lake Placid/Lake Placid) led the Bombers in the 5,000 run as she surpassed the ECAC qualifier with a season-best time of 18:30.19. Ithaca all but swept the event as senior Liz Schloss (Canterbury/Fort Wayne, Ind.) placed second, sophomore Megan Schenk (Brick Township/Brick, N.J.) finished third and junior Molly Quinn (C.W. Baker/Baldwinsville) fourth with times of 19:23.02, 19:27.03 and 19:30.66, respectively.
The Bombers’ distance medley relay of sophomore Jenn Randall (Cincinnatus Central/Cincinnatus), freshman Mikayla Gaspary (Malta/Ballston Spa), sophomore Carly Graham (West Genesee/Syracuse) and senior Kate Leugers (Rice Memorial/Richmond, Vt.) won the event and qualified for the ECAC indoor meet with an Ithaca season-best time of 12:50.67. Leugers also finished second in the 800 run in ECAC qualifying fashion with a season-best time of 2:22.21.
Senior Emily Moran (Walkill/Walkill) won the 400 dash in a season-best 1:03.82, while freshman Martyann Chromik (Naugatuck/Naugatuck, Conn.) placed second crossing the line in 1:04.24. Graduate student Melanie McCormick (Champlain Valley Union/Williston, Vt.) was victorious in the mile run with a season-best performance of 5:27.56.
The Bombers’ 1,600 relay team of freshman Hannah Craig (Upper Arlington/Columbus, Ohio), sophomore Emily McCune (Pinkerton Academy/Hempstead, N.H.), freshman Katie Edwards (St. Joseph by the Sea/Staten Island) and Moran finished as the runner-up in 4:23.21.
Complete Results