National Champ! Brandy Smith Wins Discus Title

National Champ! Brandy Smith Wins Discus Title

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RESULTS

CANTON, N.Y. – Sophomore Brandy Smith of the Ithaca College women's track & field team opened up the 2015 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships with a national title performance in the discus on Thursday at the Merrick-Pinkard Track & Field Complex on the campus of St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y.

Smith becomes the first-ever outdoor track & field national champion in school history and the fourth overall women's track & field student-athlete to win a national title. Emma Dewart '12 won the indoor pentathlon championship twice in 2010-11 and 2011-12, and Ann DelSignore '94 won the indoor 5,000-meter run in 1991-92. It is also Ithaca's first individual or team national championship since Ricardo Gomez '13 prevailed at the 2013 Division III Wrestling Championship.

Smith topped the field with a career-best and stadium record throw of 53.00 meters (173 feet, 11 inches). Her mark was just 2.02 meters shy of the Division III Championship record set back in 1992, and was nearly three meters farther than the runner-up (50.47 meters). She previously held Ithaca's school record with a mark of 48.05 meters which she set earlier this season.

She fouled on her first two attempts, but launched the championship throw on her third time at the platform. This marks Smith's seventh first place finish in the discus this season.

The top mark in the nation was 48.76 meters heading into today's event. 

In the pole vault, Ithaca sophomore Katherine Pitman and senior Alex Rechen placed 10th and 19th overall. Pitman cleared 3.70 meters (12' 1.5"), while Rechen posted a mark of 3.45 meters (11' 3.75").

Freshman Taryn Cordani took 13th in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:36.75 and came up one spot shy of qualifying for the finals. Senior Leigh Martino ran a time of 1:04.45 in the 400-meter hurdles, and  Alexa Rick did not finish the 10,000-meter run in Ithaca's final event of the day.

Alfred University senior Miasia Hillman competed Thursday in the preliminary heats of the 200-meter dash of the NCAA Division III outdoor track and field championships.

Hillman placed 18th in her heat in 25.45 seconds. Only the top eight runners advance to Saturday's championship round. Hillman was seeded 16th in the event coming into the championships, with a season-best time of 24.72 seconds.

She will compete in the 100-meter dash preliminaries Friday. She is seeded 19th in the event with a season-best time of 12.05 seconds. Finals for the 100-meter dash are set for Saturday.