Women's Indoor Track and Field | 7/29/2024 12:00:53 PM
The Empire 8 Conference is celebrating the league’s 25th Anniversary season in 2023-24, honoring student-athletes, teams, coaches and administrators who have played a key role in the league’s success over the last 25 years. Empire 8 Women’s Track and Field has enjoyed several individuals and teams that have excelled at the conference, national and regional levels.
Ithaca College was a perennial power, winning both 13 Empire 8 Women’s Indoor Track and Field and 13 Outdoor Track and Field Championships. St. John Fisher University won three straight Empire 8 Indoor Championships from 2020-22 and garnered back-to-back Outdoor Championships in 2021 and 2022. Nazareth University has won both the last two Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Stevens won the 2018 and 2019 E8 Indoor Championships and 2019 Outdoor crown. RIT won its lone E8 Indoor Championship in 2007 and did the same during the outdoor season. Utica University won its first E8 Outdoor Championship in 2018.
Ithaca head coach Jennifer Potter was a 12-time Empire 8 Indoor and 12-time Outdoor Coach of the Year, while St. John Fisher’s Mike Henchen garnered three straight Indoor Coach of the Year accolades from 2020-22. James Goss of Nazareth has earned the last two Indoor and Outdoor Coach of the Year accolades.
Emma Dewart of Ithaca was the Empire 8’s first individual national champion, winning the indoor pentathlon in 2011. She would repeat as national champion in the event in 2012. In the spring of 2011 Laura Barito of Stevens became the league’s first outdoor national champion in the 400-meter hurdles. That capped off an incredible year for Barito, as she also claimed the 50-yard freestyle at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships and was later named the 2011 NCAA Woman of the Year.
Gladys Njoku of Stevens earned back-to-back NCAA Championships at the 2015 and 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships. Amy Regan of Stevens won both the 3,000- and 5,000-meter national races at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championship and swept the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championship.
Ithaca’s Brandy Smith became the first E8 student-athlete to win the same event three straight years at nationals, claiming the discus throw at the 2015, 2016 and 2017 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Teammate Taryn Cordani won both the 3,000- and 5,000-meter national races at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championship and earned the 10,000-meter victory at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championship. Katherine Pitman of Ithaca was also a dual national champion in the pole vault, claiming victory at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championship and 2017 NCAA Indoor Championship.
Most recently, Jane Fahy of Utica University was runner-up in the shot put at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championship and placed third at the 2024 Outdoor Championship, while Nazareth’s Brenna Johnson won the 2023 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Elite 90 Award for Academic Excellence.
Ithaca’s Marcia McCord was a four-time E8 Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and three-time E8 Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year. During the 2008 outdoor season, McCord became the lone student-athlete in league history to earn Track Athlete, Field Athlete and Rookie of the Year honors. Teammate Emma Dewart was a four-time E8 Indoor Field Athlete of the Year and four-time Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year. Amy Regan (Track) and Gladys Njoku (Field) of Stevens each swept E8 Indoor Athlete of the Year honors in three consecutive seasons (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16).
Below we are honoring members of the Empire 8 Women’s Track and Field 25th Anniversary Team. Recipients were chosen by the league office and were named either a Track or Field Athlete of the Year, Track or Field Athlete of the Empire 8 Championship Meet, three-time Empire 8 Individual Champion, All-American (relays included) or earned All-Empire 8 first team honors at least five times (over various events) in their collegiate careers.
Empire 8 Women’s Track and Field 25th Anniversary Team
Track
Laura Barito, Stevens
Heidi Baumbach, Ithaca
Rachel Blasiak, Ithaca
Hannah Brackley, Nazareth
Amanda Burrichter, Houghton
Eshone Cofield-Jackson, Utica
Salme Cook, Stevens
Taryn Cordani, Ithaca
Riley Corey, St. John Fisher
Elizabeth Decker, Nazareth
Lauren DeLude, Utica
Gina Dello Russo, Stevens
Lauren DeMichele, St. John Fisher
Tayler Dence, St. John Fisher
Eliza Dewart, Ithaca
Amber Edwards, Ithaca
Ciarra Franz, St. John Fisher
Adrienne Gagnier, RIT
Olivia Gilbert, Alfred
Michaela Gildemeyer, Nazareth
Lauren Glaser, Nazareth
Harmony Graves, Ithaca
Miasia Hillman, Alfred
Lynn Janovich, Ithaca
Brenna Johnson, Nazareth
Shari Kelleher, Hartwick
Lauren Koppel, Ithaca
Amanda Laytham, Ithaca
Gabrielle Lebihan, Nazareth
Kate Leugers, Ithaca
Noelle Linenfelser, Houghton
Leigh Martino, Ithaca
Emily Maston, Ithaca
Marcia McCord, Ithaca
Mackenzie Mix, Utica
Kathryn Palermo, RIT
Lauren Pelc, Utica
LaKeisha Perez, RIT
Bridgette Piling, Ithaca
Jenn Randall, Ithaca
Amy Regan, Stevens
Edena Sanchez, Houghton
Samantha Shea, St. John Fisher
Danielle Simmons, RIT
Trisha Sliker, RIT
Kaitlyn Stinson, Utica
Abbey Szumloz, Nazareth
Emily Thompson, Nazareth
Nicole Varble, RIT
Mary Visca, Stevens
Field
Francesca Boylan, Ithaca
Katrina Cornick, Utica
Kristi Custer, Nazareth
Melissa Cutcliffe, Nazareth
Beth Cripps, Ithaca
Elana DeQuesada, Ithaca
Nora Devitt, Utica
Emma Dewart, Ithaca
Ashley Dlubac, Ithaca
Alina Duran, Stevens
Alycia Eaton, Nazareth
Jane Fahy, Utica
Rebecca Graudons, Alfred
Allison Griggs, RIT
Jessica Hoeffner, Ithaca
Ana Ion, Alfred
Brenna Johnson, Nazareth
Makenna King, St. John Fisher
Jordan Lehman, St. John Fisher
Marcia McCord, Ithaca
Jen McDonnell, Hartwick
Sarah Merriwether, Nazareth
Laura Meade, Utica
Jamie Morey, RIT
Meghan Moriningstar, Ithaca
Isabel Morse, Nazareth
Gladys Njoku, Stevens
Taylor Pierson, Nazareth
Katherine Pitman, Ithaca
Alex Rechen, Ithaca
Lea Richard, Nazareth
Amanda Rissmeyer, Ithaca
Emilia Scheemaker, Ithaca
Allison Siderko, Ithaca
Kelly Sisti, Ithaca
Anne Spila, Alfred
Alison Spivak, Ithaca
Brandy Smith, Ithaca
Kelsey Wands, Utica
Katie Weeks, Stevens
Sarah Wiatr, Utica
Paige Willson, St. John Fisher
Taylor Youngkrans, St. John Fisher
Founded in 1999, the Empire 8 has developed into one of the premier NCAA Division III athletic conferences, both on the field and in the classroom. The conference has created and implemented innovative and groundbreaking sportsmanship programming over this time, many of our which have received great publicity, including features in USA Today, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The NCAA News, and various athletic profession publications. The Empire 8 has also been highly influential in helping to shape the Division III landscape, passing many legislative proposals along with individuals who hold leadership roles at the national level.
Feature stories and series’ celebrating the league’s 25th anniversary will be highlighted on the conference's website and social media platforms throughout the 2023-24 season, starting in September. The conference will also be using the #E825 and #E8Anniversary hashtags on its Twitter and Instagram platforms as a way for fans to follow along throughout the year.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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