CHAMPS! Ithaca Wins 13th Empire 8 Outdoor Title

CHAMPS! Ithaca Wins 13th Empire 8 Outdoor Title

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RESULTS | PHOTO GALLERY 

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The nationally-ranked No. 4 Ithaca College women's track & field team claimed their 13th Empire 8 Conference Outdoor Championship in 14 seasons at Nazareth College's Golden Flyer Stadium on Saturday with 281 points. Senior Francesca Boylan was named Field Athlete of the Meet as the conclusion of the championship.

Stevens freshman Gina Dello Russo set two school records in earning Track Athlete of the Meet honors. It was the second Athlete of the Meet honors for the Whippany Park, New Jersey native, who also won the honor at the 2017 E8 Indoor Championships.

Ithaca won the championship by nearly 200 points, as St. John Fisher College finished second in the team standings with 83 points. Stevens Institute of Technology took third with 77 points, while Utica College was fourth at 70 points. Nazareth (53), Alfred University (13) and Houghton College (10) rounded out the championship.

Boylan won the javelin with a mark of 34.45 meters (113 feet) and the shot put at 12.03 meters (39' 5.75"). She also finished second in the hammer with a performance of 46.82 meters (153' 7").

Dello Russo started her day with a victory in the 200-meter dash, reaching the finish line in 25.52 seconds. She followed up her victory in the 200 with a new school record time of 56.99 in the 400-meter dash.

Ithaca senior Brandy Smith took top honors in the discus with a mark of 48.26 meters (158' 4") to set a new Empire 8 record and was nearly nine meters farther than the runner-up. Smith also won the hammer with a heave of 46.87 meters (153' 9"), and took third in the shot put at 11.74 meters (38' 6.25").

Senior Katherine Pitman set a championship record in the pole vault with a mark of 4.10 meters (13' 5.25"), and won the event by nearly a foot. Freshman Beth Cripps was the runner-up in the pole vault with a cleared height of 3.75 meters (12' 3.5"), while junior Danielle Maffuid was third at 3.35 meters (10' 11.75").

Sophomore Jordan Beckley took the top spot in the long jump with a leap of 5.28 meters (17' 4"). St. John Fisher's Erica Pawlewicz took runner up at 5.27 meters, Lauren Wiard placed third at 5.24, and in fourth was Haley Brust at 5.23.

Nazareth sophomore Alycia Atwell-Chwazik won a conference title in the triple jump with a personal-best leap of 11.09 meters (36 feet, 4 3/4 inches). 

Senior Natalie Meyer and freshman Estelle Yedynak went 1-2 in the high jump as both cleared 1.52 meters (4' 11.75").

The 4x100-meter relay team of junior Amber Edwards, freshmen Alexandria Rheaume and Amanda Wetmore, and sophomore Lusmer Quintana claimed the top spot in 48.99 seconds.

Edwards also won the 100-meter hurdles in 15.32 seconds, while Quintana bested the 100-meter dash field in 12.97 seconds. Rheaume was a runner-up in the 400-meter dash at 58.50 seconds, and Wetmore took third in the 100 at 13.11 seconds.

In the 800-meter run, sophomore Emilie Mertz and junior Sierra Grazia took the top two positions with times of 2:16.87 and 2:17.67.

Stevens senior Amy Regan won the 1500 with a time of 4:37.75, breaking the Empire 8 Championship meet mark. Ithaca junior Taryn Cordani finished second overall in 4:39.87, while classmate Denise Ibarra was third in 4:48.22.

Stevens sophomore Mary Visca won the 5000 in a time of 17:56.97. The time was nearly ten seconds faster than her closest competitor. Nazareth senior Emily Thompson posted a personal-best time as she finished second in 18:05.25.

Tayler Dence took first place and set a new Fisher record in the 400-meter hurdles, breaking both the meet record and her personal record at 1:04.06. Ithaca sophomore Britney Swarthout was the runner-up in 1:06.11. 

The 4X400 meter relay team of Dence, Emily Strong, Sydney Saccone and Chelsea Cleveland finished first among competitors with an ECAC qualifying time of 4:02.66.

Utica sophomore Kaitlyn Stinson recorded the sole first place finish for the Pioneers. Stinson registered a personal-best time of 11:47.99 in the 3000 steeplechase event to win the conference title for that event.

Ithaca placed 2-through-4 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, led by freshman Annie Morrison with a time of 12:04.46. Junior Georgia Caplen was third at 12:30.79 and sophomore Hailey Nase claimed fourth in a time of 13:16.33.