Cordani and Pitman National Champs
RESULTS
NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Ithaca junior Taryn Cordani and senior Katherine Pitman of the Ithaca College women's track & field teams became national champions at the Indoor NCAA Track and Field Championships on Friday at the Al B. Carius Track in Naperville, Ill.
Ithaca is first in team points after Friday's session with 23.25 points with two more events to go tomorrow. Brandy Smith will compete in the shot put, while Cordani will enter in the 3.000-meter run.
Cordani set an NCAA Division III meet record in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 16:28.15 that topped the previous DIII record by 4.7 seconds, which was set by Lenore Moreno of La Verne in 2014 with a time of 16:32.85. She also shattered her own school record and the facility record at North Central College by 30 seconds.
Through eight minutes of the race, Cordani sat comfortably in second place. She then made her move to the front of the pack on the 12th lap, and by the 10:30 mark, began to lap the field.
The Douglas, Mass. native clocked splits between 37.65 and 41.19 seconds, but then turned it on during the final lap and finished in 35.56 seconds.
She is the 25th student-athlete at Ithaca College to secure a national title, and is the first indoor track & field member to do so since Emma Dewart '12 won the pentathlon in 2011-12. Cordani is also the first indoor runner to claim a national title since 1991-92, when Ann Marie DelSignore '94 also won the 5K.
DelSignore held the school record in the 5K until Cordani broke it earlier this season.
Barely an hour after Cordani won the 5,000-meter run, Pitman notched the second national title for the Ithaca College women's track & field team in the pole vault. Pitman also set an NCAA Division III meet record with a mark of 4.18 meters (13 feet, 8.5 inches).
Pitman, who set the Division III indoor record this season at 4.25 meters, surpassed the previous DIII national meet record by .01 meters (4.17 meters), which was set back in 2011 by Abigail Schaffer of Moravian College. She now holds the Division III meet record in both the indoor and outdoor championships, as she claimed the 2016 outdoor title with a cleared height of 4.21 meters.
On Friday, Pitman entered the event at 3.85 meters and was successful on her first run. She then cleared 3.90 and 3.95 meters on her first try, and passed on 4.00 and 4.05 meters. Pitman made quick work of the 4.10 bar and then advanced past 4.18 meters on her third run.
With the national title already locked up, Pitman attempted to set the all-time Division III record of 4.28 meters, and just narrowly clipped the bar on her second attempt to knock it off its support.
Ithaca senior Brandy Smith was the first of four All-Americans for Ithaca on the day, as she placed sixth in the weight throw with a mark of 17.91 meters (58 feet, 5.25 inches) during the morning session of the championships. She began the event at 16.30 meters and then measured out 16.60 meters on her second heave. Her third attempt was her best mark at 17.81 meters. After fouling on her next two attempts, Smith posted a mark of 17.76 meters.
It is her fourth career All-American performance as she is a two-time national champion in the discus and placed third in the weight throw last year.
Ithaca freshman Bethany Cripps tied for eighth in the pole vault at 3.60 meters (11' 9.75") to run Ithaca's all-time total of All-Americans in track & field to 106, including 50 during the indoor season. She cleared 3.45 and 3.60 meters on her first attempts, but was unsuccessful on all three runs at 3.75 meters. Due to clearing 3.45 and 3.60 on her first tries, Cripps earned All-America position.
The Ithaca distance medley relay team of junior
Sierra Grazia, freshman
Alexandria Rheaume and
Sarah Rudge, and sophomore
Emilie Mertz finished 12th in a time of 12:27.38.