Ithaca Women Win Empire 8 Championship
Women's results
The Ithaca College women's track & field team won its 11th Empire 8 Outdoor Track & Field Championship Sunday at St. John Fisher's Polisseni Track and Field Complex.
Ithaca totaled 245 points to outscore second-place Nazareth (97). Stevens totaled 81 points to finish in third. St. John Fisher (78), Alfred (31), Houghton (28) and Utica (21) also competed.
Over the course of the championships, Ithaca notched 63 top eight finishes, highlighted by seven champions and eight runners-up.
Ithaca's Brandy Smith, the championship's Field Athlete of the Meet, blew away the field by over 10 meters in the discus with a mark of 46.97 meters which broke the previous meet record by 3.74 meters. Taryn Cordani topped the field in the 1,500 with a meet record time of 4:40.44, while Katherine Pitman won the pole vault at 3.57 meters for a meet record mark.
Senior
Christine Benway won the 100-meter hurdles in a time of 14.80 seconds, as did classmate
Leigh Martino in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:05.88. Senior
Emilia Scheemaker won her fourth triple jump title with a leap of 11.60 meters, while sophomore
Francesca Boylan claimed the javelin title with a mark of 33.54 meters.
Brandy Smith and Scheemaker took second in the hammer throw and long jump. Smith met a mark of 47.01 meters in the hammer and Scheemaker measured out 5.32 meters in the long jump.
Junior
Lizzi Dowling took second in the 100-meter dash in 12.65 seconds, sophomore
Kristin Lynn was a runner-up in the 400 hurdles in 1:08.81 and senior
Alexa Rick was also second in the 1,500 at 4:48.96. Junior
Michaela Cioffredi completed the steeplechase in a second place time of 11:31.69 and sophomore
Charis Lu rounded out the second place finishes in the discus with a mark of 36.80 meters.
Nazareth senior
Hannah Brackley and junior
Gabrielle LeBihan each repeated as conference champions in the 400-meter dash and the 3,000-meter steeplechase respectively. Brackley broke her own school record with a time of :56.99, while LeBihan won with a time of 11:28.63. Junior
Taylor Pierson also won the E8 title in the long jump with her best performance of the outdoor season with a leap of 5.49 meters (18 feet, 1/4 inch).
Nazareth also won both relays: the 4 x 100-meter relay, featuring the foursome of
Sibongile Chisi, Pierson,
Amanda Entress and Brackley, with a time of :49.65; and the 4 x 400-meter relay with
Samantha Goble, Gildemeyer, Amanda Larnard and Brackley with a time of 4:03.87.
Stevens junior
Gladys Njoku finished on top in the high jump setting a school record of 1.72m which also shattered the meet record by .05 meters and also is third nationally this outdoor season. Junior
Kate Moyer qualified for ECAC's in the 5000m, claiming her first career E8 crown with a time of 18:14.24, defeating the field by over five seconds.
St. John Fisher's Taylor Youngkrans eclipsed her own school record once again in the hammer throw (51.10 meters) to take first place, while
Paige Willson was sixth (41.47 meters). Willson delivered in the shot put with an ECAC-qualifying mark of 13.00 for top honors. The senior also scored in the javelin with an NYSCTC standard A mark of 23.11 for fourth place.
Alfred senior Miasia Hillman won the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash to claim Track Athlete of the Meet honors. Hillman's winning time of 12.12 seconds in the 100 meters broke her own conference championship meet record of 12.29 seconds, set last year. Her winning time of 24.72 seconds in the 200 meters also set a new meet record. Both times met ECAC qualifying standards.
Houghton freshman Nikki Garns earned first place in the 800 meters with a time of 2:18.22, which edged second place by just .13. The time was four seconds faster than her previous personal best. Teammate Joanna Friesen finished sixth in the race in 2:23.58 to also earn points for the Highlanders. Friesen continued her strong meet with a third place finish in the 1500 in 4:49.59, while Garns also earned sixth in the javelin with a throw of 27.39 meters.
Utica's Mikey Maxwell totaled eight points in her two respective hurdle events. Maxwell placed third in the 100 with a watch of 16.27 and fourth in the 400 with a time of 1:10.66. Junior standout Sarah Wiatr placed second in the triple jump with a soar of 11.49 meters, just .11 shy of first place. She also finished sixth in the long jump (5.21 meters).
Team Standings
Ithaca - 245
Nazareth - 97
Stevens - 81
St. John Fisher - 78
Alfred - 31
Houghton - 28
Utica - 21