CHESTER, PA. - The Cortland women's track and field team recorded a pair of All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference (AARTFC) qualifying performances at the Danny Curran Invitational Friday and Saturday. The meet was hosted by Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania.

Both qualifiers were in the 3,000-meter steeplechase as Sara Billings (Gansevoort/South Glens Falls) and Eliza Nichols (Smithtown/Smithtown West) were the lone competitors but finished with times of 11:31.86 and 11:32.12, respectively.

Three other Cortland athletes took home first-place finishes in the meet. Gabi Ghanime (Ballston Spa) was first out of six in the pole vault at 3.05 meters (10' 0"). Jacqueline Guzman (Ronkonkoma/Connetquot) was fourth in the same event in 2.90 meters (9' 6.25"). Kelly Gardner (Lake Ronkonkoma/Sachem North) was the top finisher out of 12 in the triple jump at 10.76 meters (35' 3.75").

Riley Wood (Wallkill) finished fourth at 10.32 meters (33' 10.25"). The same tandem also finished second (4.95 meters/16' 3") and seventh (4.68 meters/15' 4.25"), respectively, in the long jump. Lastly, Cat Lutjen (Sound Beach/Miller Place) won the javelin and defeated 13 other competitors with a winning throw of 34.69 meters (113' 10"). She was also sixth in the shot put at 9.77 meters (32' 0.75").

Dana Messina (East Meadow) was fifth out of 61 in the 200-meter dash in 26.98 seconds and was seventh of 39 in the 100-meter dash in 13.19 seconds. Maya Campbell (Valley Stream/Valley Stream South) was second in the 100-meter hurdles with a finish of 16.18 seconds. She also placed 13th in the crowded 200-meter dash field in 27.69 seconds. Also in the 100-meter hurdles, Kim White (Marathon) was third in 16.25 seconds.

Harley Buczkowski (Holland Patent) was second out of 20 in the hammer throw at 43.19 meters (141' 8") and third of 25 with a discus throw of 34.09 meters (111' 10").

Megan Wagner (Niskayuna) was the fourth collegiate finisher with a time of 19:13.46 in the 5,000 meters. In the 10,000 meters, Allison Segal (Merrick/Calhoun) was fifth in 43:35.65.

Also, Cortland placed two 4x400-meter relay teams in the top four. Jesse Correale (Staten Island/Notre Dame Academy), Melissa Emilio (Oneonta), Hayley Palmer (Wellsville), and Kaylee Uhl (Waverly) were third out of 11 in 4:11.73. Asia Cornwall (East Greenbush/Columbia), Carolyn Wagner (Delmar/Bethlehem), Sydney Socha (Clifton Springs/Midlakes), and Nicole Hallenbeck (Claverack/Taconic Hills) were fourth in 4:19.87. Uhl was also third out of 14 in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:09.01 and Rachel Antonucci (Dix Hills/Half Hollow Hills West) was sixth in 1:13.08.

Cortland will send competitors to both the Hamilton Invitational and the TCNJ Invitational next weekend.

Complete Results (PDF)

(Recap by Cortland sports information student intern Kyle Lancto)


Coach's Corner - Comments from Head Coach Steve Patrick

Our Red Dragons took advantage of the combination of nice weather, a good facility, and good competition this past weekend. With the outdoor season being so short and with Mother Nature dictating a lot of what we are doing, we need to step up and produce big results when given the opportunity. Considering that our meet last weekend was canceled, we're really quite proud of the overall effort the team produced this past weekend!
 
Normally I'd tell you a few things about specific athletes, but we saw great attitudes, efforts and results from our sprinters, our jumpers, and hurdlers, our throwers, and our distance runners!  We are looking forward to our meets this weekend, as well as to host our annual 'learn by doing' clinic on Sunday the 8th.