CHESTER, PA. – Alexa Wolcott (Wyoming/Pavilion) won the 3,000-meter steeplechase and was one of 10 Cortland athletes to hit All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference (AARTFC) qualifying standards as the Red Dragons competed at the Widener University Danny Curran Invitational women's outdoor track and field meet Friday and Saturday.
 
Wolcott placed first out of 21 runners in the steeplechase in 11:14.49, which currently ranks 11th nationally in Division III. Cassidy Wendt (Seaford) was fifth in 11:48.63. Both times are AARTFC qualifiers.
 
Reilly Quinn (Morrisonville/Beekmantown) and Georgia Spuches Jwaskiewicz (Syracuse/Liverpool) each cleared AARTFC marks of 1.60 meters (5' 3") in the high jump, with Quinn officially finishing third out of 36 competitors and Spuches Jwaskiewicz fifth. In the hammer throw, Jennifer Ndukwu (Queens/Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School) finished seventh (48.82 meters/160' 2") and Cheyenne McPeek (Johnson City) was ninth (47.18 meters/154' 9") out of 35 athletes, both with AARTFC marks. Ndukwu currently ranks 18th nationally in Division III.
 
Three Red Dragons posted AARTFC marks in the 5,000 meters. Melissa Innocent (Elmont/Valley Stream North) was fourth out of 93 runners in 17:37.08. Phoebe Peer (Saranac Lake) placed 14th (18:00.46) and Bri Ostheller (Penfield) finished 16th (18:05.83). Kendall Sobczyk (Wheatfield/Niagara Wheatfield) was Cortland's other AARTFC qualifier - she finished eighth of 94 in the 100-meter dash in 12.52 seconds.
 
Ndukwu was sixth of 69 in the shot put at 11.46 meters (37' 7.25"), with McPeek placing 16th (10.81 meters/35' 5.75"). Quinn finished seventh of 56 in the long jump (5.29 meters/17' 4.25") and Gabriella Raymond (Sayville) finished 15th (5.00 meters/16' 5"). In the triple jump, Gianna Boland (Cicero/Cicero-North Syracuse) finished seventh at 10.47 meters (34' 4.25"). Leah Schleicher (East Meadow) was 10th (10.29 meters/33' 9.25"), Raymond placed 12th (10.13 meters/33' 3"), Hannah Nolan (Montour Falls/Odessa-Montour) was 14th (9.97 meters/32' 8.5") and Caitlin Maher (Hartsdale/Ardsley) finished 18th (9.70 meters/31' 10").
 
The 4x100-meter relay team of Eilise Marino (West Sayville/Sayville), Brianna Gabbidon (Islip), Sophia Hotaling (Cooperstown) and Sobczyk finished fifth of 13 in 50.91 seconds. Marino ended 10th of 38 in the 100-meter hurdles in 15.95 seconds, followed by Boland in 15th (16.86) and Katie Ball (Smithtown/Smithtown East) in 18th (17.34).
 
Hannah McMasters (Homer) placed 11th in the hammer throw with a distance of 44.70 meters (146' 8"), and Faith Hoyt (Pittsford/Pittsford Mendon) was 13th of 26 in the pole vault, clearing 3.05 meters (10' 0"). Kelly Newman (Harrison) was 15th of 116 in the 800 meters (2:22.94), Gabbidon finished 17th of 81 in the 400-meter dash (1:00.19), McPeek placed 17th in the discus (31.43 meters/103' 1"), Amelia Konstanty (Lockport/Royalton Hartland) was 19th in the 400-meter hurdles (1:14.00), and Sobczyk finished 21st of 126 in the 200-meter dash (26.32).

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

We didn't get the exceptional weather we normally get at this meet, but we were fortunate to be dry and about 15 degrees warmer than the options for meets in Upstate NY. We can't control the weather, but we can control our actions, and efforts, and our attitude, and for the most part we were quite successful with working on this over the past two days. Being mindful of this on the less-than-ideal days is what allows us to be really able to compete at a high level when it counts!
 
With that being said, we had some performances that really deserve to be highlighted! Starting in the field, Cabe Hogue had a weekend – with good throws and better focus across all three of his events; 2 were lifetime bests and one nearly his best! Leah Schleicher had a big breakthrough in triple jump to move well past the 10-meter mark! On the track, Jon Slick and Anthony Rizzo opened up with excellent efforts in the steeplechase (and the water was cold when they ran!); Eilise Marino, Travis Iwuagwu, and Evan Cruz had very strong openers in the high hurdles, and CK Khamani and Drew Miller made great debuts in the 400 hurdles. Any hurdling event – which steeplechase is a part of – is pretty tough at the first outdoor meet when we've had very limited practice opportunities, so these folks are to be commended.
 
We had so many strong performances on the track from both the sprint squad and the distance squads. In the 5k, Declan Butler, Landon Fracasse, Phoebe Peer, Bri Ostheller, and Jade Hornick really ran quite exceptionally. All showed patience early, and pretty remarkable work in the later half of the race to set big PRs. Carter Naginey had quite the double in the 800 and 1500, as did Kelly Newman in the same events! Kendall Sobczyk and Bri Gabbidon led the way for the women's sprints with a near-PR in the 100 for Kendall, and an excellent 400 for Bri; Daaron Harrell had a very good 400 and a lifetime best 200, while fellow firstyear Daniel Kahler had a lifetime best in both races!
 
Up next is the Red Dragon Open (which we are workshopping a new name for: The Friday Fun Frolic) on Friday, April 3rd; a select few folks will make the trip down to compete at Princeton at the Sam Howell Invitational on Saturday, April 4th.