By Katherine Harris
Writer
The women’s track and field team set many school top-10 records last weekend in the Bison Outdoor Classic, the team’s first home meet of the outdoor season. The meet was not team-scored, but it allowed individuals an opportunity to demonstrate their skills as they prepare for the upcoming league championship.
“The meet this weekend was great for the team because it was highly competitive and really pushed everyone to improve times and distances. It is also always nice to be on your own track because we practice there every day and feel most comfortable and relaxed there,” Sasha Hornock ’13 said.
The Bison started off the weekend strong at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on the track. In the 1,500 meters, teammates Hana Casalnova ’14 and Caroline Tolli ’13 finished neck and neck, grabbing 12th and 13th with times of 4:31.14 and 4:31.18 respectively. Casalnova’s time put her fourth in the school record books and Tolli’s put her fifth. Emily Liggett ’12 also stepped up in the 5,000 meters with her time of 17:05.91, giving her fifth in the race and putting her third in school history.
The Orange and Blue also had success on the field on day one, with top-10 finishes in multiple events. In the discus, Abby Monaghan ’13 and Rebecca Misko ’12 placed fifth and seventh with throws of 145’ 0’’ and 142’ 1’’ respectively. Tayler Siegrist ’13 also took third in the javelin with her best throw of the season, reaching 141’ 8’’.
On the second day of competition, the pole vault started the day off strong for the Bison, with Emily Ando ’14 taking fifth with a vault of 11’ 7.75’’, while Yanelis Mestre ’15 and Autumn Schnellenberger ’14 tied for seventh at the mark of 11’ 1.75’’. All three teammates rank in the top six in school history and either tied or beat their career bests at the meet. In the triple jump, Alexandra Romanelli ’13 also broke into the top-10 with her mark of 38’ 0.25’’, earning her seventh in the meet.
“I was very pleased with my performance this weekend since the season got off to a rough start for me. The weather also held up and turned out to be a great day to pole vault,” Ando said.
Success for the Orange and Blue also continued on the track, with Casalnova once again leading the way with her performance, this time in the 800 meters. Her time of 2:10.95 placed her eighth in the meet and moved her into third in the school record books. Hornock ran a career best 12.31 seconds in the 100 meters, taking fifth on the day.
The Bison will finish up their regular season this weekend with another home meet, hosting the Bucknell Team Challenge at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The meet will be Senior Day, and the 1981-82 cross country and track and field teams will also be recognized for their 30-year reunion.
“This weekend’s Team Challenge will be a great opportunity for this team to jell and develop an identity heading into the league championships in two weeks,” head coach Kevin Donner said. “We are not quite there yet; however in a couple weeks we will be ready. We have a nice group of seniors competing in their last ever home meet so everyone will be very excited.”