ROCHESTER, N.Y and ITHACA, N.Y. – Autumn Pittman (Spring Valley/Ramapo) broke her own school record in the 60-meter dash and moved into the top five nationally this season in the event during Cortland's competition Saturday at the Cornell University Marc Deneault Invitational. Cortland also sent throwers Friday to the Nazareth Conference Tune-Up.
 
Cornell Highlights:
 
Pittman finished first of 25 in the 60-meter dash at Cornell with an All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference (AARTFC) mark of 7.60 seconds, breaking her previous school record of 7.66 seconds from last season. The time ties her for fourth place in the latest NCAA Division III rankings. Kendall Sobczyk (Wheatfield/Niagara Wheatfield) finished seventh in 7.99 seconds (7.98 prelims), and AARTFC mark, and Alexia Prince (Spring Valley/Clement Howell) finished 10th in 8.09 seconds.
 
Kelly Newman (Harrison) finished third in the 600 meters in 1:42.19 and Reilly Quinn (Morrisonville/Beekmantown) was third in the high jump at 1.60 meters (5' 3"), an AARTFC mark. Lillian Swyers (Peru) finished sixth of 19 in the 60-meter hurdles in 9.62 seconds, with her prelim time of 9.45 seconds an AARTFC qualifier. She also finished fourth in the triple jump at 10.62 meters (34' 10.25").
 
The 4x400-meter relay of Faith Nelson (Rensselaer/Columbia), Izzie Bosko (Hillsdale/Taconic Hills), Newman and Matty Lucey (Freeville/Groton) placed second in 4:12.38. Jennifer Ndukwu (Queens/Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School) was ninth in the weight throw (14.36 meters/47' 1.5"), and Kristin Ieva (North Babylon) and Phoebe Peer (Saranac Lake) finished 12th (5:34.90) and 13th (5:38.26), respectively, out of 28 in the mile run.
 
Nazareth Highlights:
 
Hannah McMasters (Homer) posted two AARTFC marks at Nazareth, finished sixth of 36 in the weight throw at 14.77 meters (48' 5.5") and seventh of 31 in the shot put (11.92 meters/39' 1.25"). Cheyenne McPeek (Johnson City) was Cortland's top finisher in the shot put at 12.00 meters (39' 4.5"), an AARTFC qualifier. She also finished ninth in the weight throw (14.44 meters/47' 4.5"). Kayla Tretola (Levittown/Island Trees) finished ninth in the shot put (11.44 meters/37' 6.5").

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

First, throws coach Mitch Makowski has a few thoughts to share from the Nazareth Conference Tune-Up from Friday:
 
Sophomore Evan Collette led the group with a passive new personal record in the weight throw, moving him up to #3 all-time at SUNY Cortland! On the women's side, sophomore Cheyenne McPeek threw her farthest shot ever at Cortland (and the second-best of her life), surpassing the AARTFC standard. Junior Hannah McMasters also threw a season's best in the weight, earning the AARTFC standard.
 
Starting with the throws squad at Cornell, it was nearly raining PRs as Molly McMasters and Colleen Patrie hit PRs in the shot put, that may have pushed them both into the conference championships next weekend! Jason Zaita hit a big PR in the shot, while teammates Sean Keane and Ramel Radcliff both hit career bests in the weight throw.
 
For the jumps, Gavin Franco came up with a big final attempt to earn himself a trip to the conference meet in triple jump; Vegas Petersen set a new PR in pole vault while Taiog Cypher hit a new best in high jump. Sophomore Reilly Quinn not only set a PR, but also took over the SUNYAC lead with her clearance of 1.60 meters.
 
On the track, we saw some great middle-distance action as Matthew Mullen hit a new lifetime best in the 800, and Cortland was well-represented in the 600 by Lenny Diaz and Hector Ramos on the men's side, and Kelly Newman and Jewel Jones on the women's. Jewel's performance stands out in that she ran almost 9 seconds faster than her previous best!
 
Our women's 400 runners that stuck to the relay (Faith Nelson, Izzie Bosko, and Matty Lucey) ran much improved 400 legs as compared to last week's efforts in the open 400, which was due to a great adjustment in racing strategy. In the men's 400, despite starting a bit slower over the first lap then we might have wanted, Josh Jeffes, Evan Jensen, and Zion Cheatham all turned in great final laps to hit new season's best for the flat track. Marcello Mastrocco dropped a big PR in the 200 in what was clearly his best race to date in a Cortland singlet. And of course, the 60 meters went really well – not just from the standpoint of Autumn and her new school record, but also Matthew Schaffert moving into a tie all-time for 4th at Cortland in the 60, LeBron Richardson dipping under the 7-second barrier, and good overall efforts from Deontae Bennett, Kendall Sobczyk, and Alexia Prince.
 
The next 48 hours is a bit tense as we work through all the SUNYAC qualifying and entries, but we're looking forward to have a strong showing at the conference championships this upcoming Friday and Saturday!