ITHACA, N.Y., UTICA, N.Y. and BOSTON, MASS. – The Cortland women's indoor track and field team sent competitors to meets at both Cornell University and Utica University, as well as two runners to Boston University, on a busy Saturday of action.
 
Boston University Valentine Invitational Highlights:
 
At the BU Valentine Invitational, Melissa Innocent (Elmont/Valley Stream North) finished 117th out of 207 runners in the open 3,000 meters in 9:48.30. Her performance is an All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference (AARTFC) qualifier and ranks 30th nationally in Division III and first in the SUNYAC. Jewel Jones (Long Beach) finished 219th in the open mile in 5:17.69.
 
Cornell University Robert Kane Invitational Highlights:
 
At the Cornell Kane Invitational, Kendall Sobczyk (Wheatfield/Niagara Wheatfield) finished fifth (7.75) and Brianna Gabbidon (Islip) placed ninth (8.00) out of 34 runners in the 60-meter dash. Sobczyk's time ranks 37th nationally in Division III and second in the SUNYAC. In the 200-meter dash, Gabbidon finished ninth of 52 runners in 26.28 seconds and Sobczyk was 10th in 26.72 seconds.
 
Reilly Quinn (Morrisonville/Beekmantown) finished fourth in the high jump, clearing 1.63 meters (5' 4.25"), and she was second of 17 in the long jump with a distance of 5.20 meters (17' 0.75"). Her high jump ranks 35th nationally in Division III and is second in the SUNYAC. Georgia Spuches Jwaskiewicz (Syracuse/Liverpool) placed sixth in the high jump at 1.55 meters (5' 1").
 
Kelly Newman (Harrison) finished fifth (2:31.87) and Mia Hannan (Lynbrook/Sacred Heart Academy) was seventh (2:34.76) in a field of 16 in the 800 meters, and in the 400 meters Anna Miller (Cornwall-on-Hudson/Cornwall) finished eighth (1:03.66) and Dahiana Martinez (Bronx/Bronx School of Law, Govt. & Justice) placed ninth (1:04.46).
 
Cassidy Wendt (Seaford) finished ninth of 25 in the mile (5:27.93). Alexa Wolcott (Wyoming/Pavilion) and Phoebe Peer (Saranac Lake) topped Cortland's performers in the 5,000 meters. Wolcott was first in 19:28.47 and Peer finished second in 19:46.81.
 
Cortland's AARTFC qualifiers at Cornell were Sobczyk (60-meter dash), Gabbidon (60-meter dash and 200-meter dash) and Quinn (high jump).
 
Utica University Fast Trax Invitational Highlights:
 
Jennifer Ndukwu (Queens/Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School)  led a Cortland sweep of the top three spots in the weight throw at Utica with a distance of 16.74 meters (54' 11.25") that ranks 22nd nationally in Division III and is first in the SUNYAC. Hannah McMasters (Homer) was second at 15.55 meters (51' 0.25") and Cheyenne McPeek (Johnson City) finished third with a toss of 15.18 meters (49' 9.75"). A total of 43 athletes competed in the event. Molly McMasters (Homer) finished in 10th place (12.58 meters/41' 3.25").
 
Four Red Dragons landed in the top seven out of 42 competitors in the shot put. Kayla Tretola (Levittown/Island Trees) was third at 12.81 meters (42' 0.5"), followed by Ndukwu in fourth (12.42 meters/40' 9"). (Hannah) McMasters finished sixth (11.72 meters/38.5.5") and McPeek was seventh (11.64 meters/38' 2.25").
 
Lillian Swyers (Peru) finished second of 18 in the triple jump with a distance of 10.96 meters (35' 11.5") and she placed fifth of 34 in the 60-meter hurdles in 9.47 seconds. Also in the triple jump, Gianna Boland (Cicero/Cicero-North Syracuse) finished fourth (10.87 meters/35' 8"), Caitlin Maher (Hartsdale/Ardsley) was fifth (10.16 meters/33' 4") and Grace Reed (South Windsor, CT) placed seventh (10.01 meters/32' 10.25"). Faith Hoyt (Pittsford/Pittsford Mendon) won the pole vault, beating 10 other competitors with a height of 3.17 meters (10' 4.75").
 
Four Cortland athletes earned top-eight spots out of 29 athletes in the long jump, led by Gabriella Raymond (Sayville) in fourth place at 5.16 meters (16' 11.25") and Annabelle Schuck (Saratoga Springs) in fifth place at 5.10 meters (16' 8.75"). Reed finished seventh (4.91 meters/16' 1.5") and Hannah Nolan (Montour Falls/Odessa-Montour) was eighth (4.90 meters/16' 1"). In the high jump, Molly Van Etten (Woodbourne/Tri-Valley Secondary) placed fourth of 15 by clearing 1.45 meters (4' 9") and Schuck was seventh at 1.40 meters (4' 7").
 
Cortland's AARTFC qualifiers at Utica were Swyers (60-meter hurdles and triple jump), Ndukwu (weight throw and shot put), (Hannah) McMasters (weight throw), McPeek (weight throw) and Tretola (shot put).

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

We took on the Northeast with meets at Cornell, Utica, and Boston University, and it was quite successful!
 
The report from Boston is the easiest – Melissa Innocent makes a statement with her 3000 performance, moving up to #3 on the Cortland All-Time list (and considering that she moved past an NCAA Champion to take that spot, that's quite an achievement). It wasn't just the effort and the time that are impressive, but that she is really learning to make great decisions during the race to put herself in the position to run fast.
 
Utica was mostly focused on field events; Jennifer Ndukwu threw the weight much farther than ever before, moving up to #2 all-time at Cortland. She also had big PR in the shot put for a pretty impressive day! Kayla Tretola had an impressive PR in the shot put as well – moving to within a centimeter of being #4 on our all-time list. All told 6 of the women had season bests in shot, while 5 had season bests in weight! For the men, 5 men had season bests in the weight – led by Evan Collette's new PR – and 6 men also had season bests in the shot put.
 
Pole vault was a huge success at Utica as well – Faith Hoyt jumped great to take the win, which is pretty rare in collegiate track and field, so it's really enjoyable! All 5 men jumping at the meet jumped season bests, with 4 of the 5 jumping lifetime bests – led by Skylar McFarling's jump!
 
We had some strong horizontal jumps at Utica as well, with Lillian Swyers and Brady Melious hitting season bests in triple jump; Hannah Nolan led a slew of four women with season bests in the long jump as she flew past the 16' barrier! To close out Utica, firstyear combined-eventer Nicholas Malette should get mention for 3 college PRs in 3 events – the long jump, the 60 hurdles, and the 400.
 
Cornell was mostly focused on the track, although most of the high jump squad competed with, with great results led by the new PRs for Taoig Cypher and Reilly Quinn for the men and women respectively. The day started out great with a team effort in the women's 5k. With only Cortland athletes in the race, leadership and sacrifice from Alexa Wolcott and Phoebe Peer went a long ways to help get Anne Barney, Mia McClaine, and Gwenivere Connelly qualified to the conference meet. That theme showed up again later in the day, as Jordan Wingert took the lead in the 2nd heat of the mile pulling the team out in the split we were hoping for at 800. He wasn't scheduled to be a rabbit, but noticed the need and stepped up to fill it. It was pretty exciting to have 5 men go under 4:30 on the day, led by Vincent Smaldone from the fast heat!
 
We saw a number of good efforts across the 800s, but I'd like to highlight Jacob Sandak for making the adjustment on how he raced from last week to this week to drop his time a decent amount, and to move up in the conference rankings. He put together a great race, and should be ready for the next step!
 
For the sprints, we saw great efforts which are key as we are approaching championship season. Kendall Sobczyk improving on her lifetime best in the 60 was obviously great, but the fact that she proved there's a lot more there with the adjustments she made in her 200 were wonderful to see!. Daniel Kahler ran a great 400 but still has more to give through his finish. Fellow firstyear Daaron Harrell made adjustments from his 60 to drop a big improvement in the 200, and most likely earn a conference spot in that race as well. Firstyear Brianna Gabbidon had a great double PR day in the 600 and the 200, while classmate Anna Miller did the same in the 200 and the 400!
 
This next weekend will be some folks at Cornell to refine performances and/or to chase qualifying performances; some others will be able to train through the weekend with an eye towards the upcoming conference, AARTFC, and NCAA championships!