ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cortland women's indoor track and field team finished in third place out of four teams at a quad meet hosted by Ithaca College. Ithaca was the team champion with 159 points, followed by TCNJ with 119, Cortland with 103.5 and Oneonta with 85.5.
 
Scoring was awarded on a 9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis, with schools allowed only two scoring performances apiece in each event. Relays were limited to one score per school.
 
Gianna Boland (Cicero/Cicero-North Syracuse) was the winner in the triple jump, covering 10.70 meters (35' 1.25"). Cortland earned five individual runner-up finishes: Melissa Innocent (Elmont/Valley Stream North) in the 800 meters (2:19.70), Phoebe Peer in the mile run (5:19.25), Georgia Spuches Jwaskiewicz (Syracuse/Liverpool) in the high jump (1.58 meters/5' 2.25"), Lillian Swyers (Peru) in the triple jump (10.64 meters/34' 11"), and Jennifer Ndukwu (Queens/Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School) in the weight throw (15.06 meters/49 '5").
 
Cortland's 4x400-meter relay team of Sophia Hotaling (Cooperstown), Abby Hardy (Johnson City), Jewel Jones (Long Beach) and Innocent finished second in 4:11.82. Kendall Sobczyk (Wheatfield/Niagara Wheatfield) placed third in the 60-meter dash (8.01).
 
Hannah McMasters (Homer) earned two of Cortland's five fourth-place finishes with her shot put of 12.02 meters (39' 5.25") and her weight throw of 14.61 meters (47' 11.25"). Reilly Quinn (Morrisonville/Beekmantown) was fourth in the high jump (1.58 meters/5' 2.25"), Brianna Gabbidon (Islip) finished fourth in the 60-meter dash (8.10), and Elise Marino (West Sayville/Sayville) placed fourth in the triple jump (10.51 meters/34' 5.75").
 
Cortland's athletes who reached All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference (AARTFC) standards at the meet included Innocent (800 meters), Spuches Jwaskiewicz (high jump), Sobczyk (60-meter dash) and Quinn (high jump).

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

I think the best word to describe today's meet is tired. That's what the team is, and that's OK!
 
Fatigue can be the result of quality training, and the folks that have been back have been working! That work leads to fatigue, and it takes away a bit from performance. And that's not a bad thing when viewed over the perspective of the season – but it sure can be frustrating in the moment, especially for the athletes. The coaches are quite proud with how the team handled this challenge over the course of the day!
 
We can always control our attitude and our effort – how we complete – and that went quite well over the day. So overall there's a lot to feel positive with!
 
Despite the hard work that we have been putting in, a few performances really stood out across the day. In no particular order, I'd like to highlight Gianna Boland with a PR in the hurdles, and one of her best jumps ever in the triple jump, Melissa Innocent for breaking the 2:20 barrier in the 800, Phoebe Peer and Jade Hornick who both set new PRs in the mile by over 15 seconds, Bri Ostheller who really pushed the pace in the middle of the mile helping not only Jade but also firstyear Cassidy Wendt; it was great to see firstyears Brianna Gabbidon and Giuliana Rosario competing for the first time in a Cortland uniform, along with having senior Jennifer Ndukwu return after student teaching in the fall! For the men, Manuel Sepulveda put together a stellar day not only in the 60m, but more impressive in the triple jump as he claimed the #5 all-time spot at Cortland, using only a 5-step approach. We wanted to stay on a shorter run; that kind of distance with so few steps is quite impressive! Brandon Mulholland and Hunter Rautenstrauch both competed well and ran new PRs in the mile, and we were quite happy with the efforts in the sprints especially later in the day across the 4x400 relays.
 
We have another week of winter session training coming up, with a return to Ithaca for a great smaller invitational this upcoming weekend. We're excited to have more folks returning and competing, as well as for the progress we will continue to make!