Alyssa Arre, Photo Editor
The UR men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams had a strong showing in the SUNY Brockport Invitational, with the men ranking second of 13 teams and the women finishing fourth among 12 teams on Saturday, Feb. 2.
For the men, many UR athletes had strong finishes and it was truly an overall team effort that led them to a strong second place finish, despite being outscored for the title by a mere half point.
The key to this meet was the incredible depth of UR’s team. Sophomore Max Sims, sophomore Ethan Pacheck, and freshman Boubacar Diallo were the Yellowjackets’ three individual first-place finishers for the night. Sims claimed the win in the 500m race with a time of 1:12.07 and Pacheck earned first in the 1,000 meter run with a time of 2:34.91.
Diallo had the only individual win of the field events. He finished first in the triple jump and currently ranks tenth in the nation with a distance of 14.28 meters.
In addition to these three Yellowjacket wins, there were many other strong performances throughout the meet. Both the 4-by-200 meter relay team, including Sims, junior Eugene O’Hanlon, junior Marquis Turner, and freshman Jeffrey Hrebenach, and the 4-by-400 meter team comprised of Pacheck, junior Andrew Keene, freshman Mintesinot Kassu, and freshman Jeremy Hassett earned second place with times of 1:33.05 and 3:29.32 respectively.
Senior Dan Hamilton, Pacheck, and sophomore Mark Rollfs all brought in points in the 3,000 meter while senior James Rindfuss, junior David Delong, junior Brian Barker, and freshman Chris D’Antona all had strong, point-scoring performances in the 5,000 meter race.
On the women’s side of the competition, there were six top-three finishers for the Lady’ Jackets which helped contribute to their solid overall fourth-place standing. The highest scoring finish came from sophomore Kathryn Woodworth, who won the 5,000 meter run with a time of 19:42.62.
Second place finishes of the night included the 4-by-200-meter relay team consisting of junior Becky Galasso, freshman Emily VanDenburgh, freshman Cameron Edwards, and freshman Yvette Igbokwe; VanDenburgh placed second in the long jump and Galasso placed second in the 500-meter race. VanDenburgh jumped 5.32 meters, placing her twenty-fifth in the nation, and Galasso raced in with a time of 1:20.01.
Senior Breanna Eng and freshman Catherine Knox were also top-three finishers, each placing third in their respective events. Knox earned the bronze in the 1000-meter race with a time of 3:109.62 while Eng earned third in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.57.
“We had some really exceptional performances in both relays and individual events. Right now, both our men’s and women’s teams are looking really strong” sophomore women’s hurdler Connie Mistler-Ferguson said. “We have a lot of depth in events that were lacking last year. I think we have a really good shot at the state title this year.”
Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams hope to continue this momentum as they approach postseason competition. Their next competition will be on Feb. 8 as they compete in the Valentine’s Invitational at Boston University.
Cozen is a member of the class of 2015.
