ROCHESTER, N.Y - The Cortland women's indoor track and field team finished 10th out of 57 schools at the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference (AARTFC) Championships. The event was held Friday and Saturday at Nazareth University.
 
The Red Dragons finished with 26.14 points. Geneseo won the title with 90.14 points, followed by Susquehanna with 54 and Rowan with 44.
 
Autumn Pittman (Spring Valley/Ramapo) finished second in the 60-meter dash (7.74) and fourth in the 200-meter dash (25.81). Kendall Sobczyk (Wheatfield/Niagara Wheatfield) was third in the 60-meter dash (7.76) and Regan Kaiser (Queensbury/Glens Falls) finished as part of a seven-way tie for eighth place in the high jump (1.52 meters/4' 11.75").
 
The top eight individual finishers and the top three relays earn All-AARTFC honors.
 
The combination of Sobczyk, Matty Lucey (Freeville/Groton), Avery Hebert (Stillwater) and Yasmine Peralta (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) finished fifth in the 4x200-meter relay (1:47.40). Hebert, Peralta, Maris Seabury (Old Chatham/Ichabod Crane) and Lucey were sixth in the 4x400-meter relay (4:05.57).
 
Other Red Dragons competing at the meet included:
 
Jennifer Ndukwu (Queens/Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School), 9th place, Weight Throw (15.15 meters/49' 8.5")
Alexa Wolcott (Wyoming/Pavilion), 11th place, 5,000 meters (18:21.46)
Lucey, 12th place, 200-meter dash (26.74)
Hebert, 15th place, 400-meter dash (59.95)
Hannah McMasters (Homer), 15th place, Weight Throw (14.62 meters/47' 11.75")
Reilly Quinn (Beekmantown), tied 19th place, High Jump, (1.52 meters/4' 11.75")
AnJalyna Talmadge, 21st place, 60-meter hurdles (9.62)
 
Cortland awaits the announcement of qualifiers for next weekend's NCAA Division III Championships, which be held March 8-9 in Virginia Beach, Va. The final participant list will be posted on NCAA.com this Sunday, March 3, by 7 p.m. The top 20 in each individual event and the top 12 in each relay (4x400 and DMR) qualify for nationals. As of late Saturday night, Cortland athletes ranking in the national qualifying spots are:
 
Danielle Fisk (Honeoye Falls/Honeoye Falls-Lima), tied 3rd, High Jump and 13th, Pentathlon
Pittman, tied 14th, 60-meter dash

Coach's Corner - Comments from Cortland Head Coach Steve Patrick:

This was truly a great weekend for those that had the chance to compete. We didn't have a PR out of each and every performer, but we were close! The number of folks that tied or exceeded their previous best was pretty outstanding! We didn't have a lot of instances where there was a major good in terms of how we competed; where we didn't completely perform as we hoped we do feel like there was good learning taking place.

We didn't go into this meet worries about scoring, but earning 10th place (out of close to 60 teams) is a pretty nice confirmation that both teams are doing things the right way.

To point out a couple of areas where there was a great performance that doesn't necessarily show up in the result, Alexa Wolcott is the obvious choice. She led the first heat of the 5000 from 205 meters to the finish and kept a steady pace the whole way, resulting in a nearly 30 second PR. To race like that is very mentally challenging and she handled it like a champion today.

I'll also commend our mens 4x400 relay who not only also led nearly the entire race, but handled a last-minute change in order quite well. Changes can sometime result in nervousness or concerns, and their focus on performing well was key to posting such a a fast time.

We're anxiously awaiting the close of the qualification period tonight so we know who is in the meet and are excited to make our way down to the NCAA Champions in Virginia Beach.