By Jessica Landman
The second meet of the outdoor season for mens and women’s track and field kicked off April 4 at noon. The men’s team finished third out of seven with 72.5 points total and the women’s team finished second with 139 points overall.
In order to continue to see this kind of success throughout the rest of the season, sophomore Cody Monnat said, “I’ll keep doing the work and I mean coach Wilmott knows what he’s talking about so long as he keeps telling me what he wants me to do, I’m just going to keep doing it to the best of my ability.”
The meet started on the track with the men’s 3,000 meter steeplechase. Liam Gildea finished in sixth with a time of 10 minutes 51 seconds 79 milliseconds Noah Bonesteel ended in second place and qualified for SUNYAC with a time of 10:15.24.
Following the steeple was the 100-meter preliminary race for the women. In eighth place was Michaela Schaffer with a time of 13.94 seconds. Ahead of Schaffer was Morgan Thompson who placed sixth with a time of 13.78. Both of these athletes qualified for the 100-meter final race. For the men, Monnat ran an 11.95, which placed him in seventh just behind Aiden Masten who finished with a time of 11.84 seconds. Monnat and Masten made it to the final race as well.
In the 1,500-meter race was Kristen Thomas who finished the four laps in 5:41.04, putting her in fourth place. Sarah Smith ran this as well and finished in third with a time of 5:24.52. Finally, with a time of 4:58. 29, taking first place, was Aislyn McDonough. This race was a SUNYAC qualifying time for McDonough. For the men, Justin Kumrow placed fourth overall with a time of 4:38.23 and coming in first place with an overall time of 4:13.43 was Logan Van Buren.
The next event for the Cardinals was the 100-meter hurdles. Janyll Barber easily took first place, beating her next closest opponent by almost one second. She finished with a time of 16.68 seconds, qualifying her for SUNYAC’s.
Following Barber was the 100-meter finals race. Finishing seventh overall, and qualifying for SUNYAC’s with a time of 13.82 was Schaffer. Just ahead was Thompson, also qualifying for SUNYAC’s with a final time of 13.79 seconds. On the men’s side, Masten finished seventh as well with an overall time of 11.85. Finishing just .01 seconds before Masten, and placing sixth overall was Monnat.
In the 800-meter mid-distance race was Smith, who finished in fifth with a time of 2:34.55. The men’s team had a very competitive race with fourth place finishing just two seconds behind first place. Van Buren came in third overall with a time of 2:05.27.
Following the 800 was the 200-meter race. Thompson ended with a final time of 28.51 landing her in seventh place. Taking first place in this event as well, with a SUNYAC qualifying time of 26.26, was Barber. On the men’s side, Monnat finished with a final time of 23.82 seconds placing him in eighth. Brexton Montville easily took first place with a time of 22.42 seconds, also qualifying him for SUNYAC’s.
The only athlete who ran, for both men and women, in the 5,000-meter race was Rebecca Block. She finished sixth overall with a final time of 19:57.12.
In the field, for women’s high jump, Kathrine Berge and Kristen Boerke tied for fourth place with a height of 1.33 meters. Mikayla Osmer took third place after jumping 1.38 meters. Coming in second was Barber with a height of 1.43 meters. Also for women’s long jump, Schaffer took fourth place jumping a final distance of 4.63 meters. For the men’s long jump, Masten finished in fourth place with a distance of 5.97 meters.
For the women’s javelin throw, Barber finished in eighth place after throwing a distance of 14.79 meters. Just ahead of Barber was Osmer with a distance of 14.94 meters. Kristen Boerke took sixth place with a throw of 16.29. Kaitlyn Bjelko finished fifth overall with a final throw of 26.30 and Jasmine Piper threw 27.07 meters landing her in fourth place. Finally, finishing in third place was Bliss Rhoads with a distance of 27.37 meters. Piper, Rhoads and Bjelko all qualified for SUNYAC’s for the javelin throw at this meet. In the women’s hammer throw, Megan Thornton took seventh place with a throw of 30.48 meters and Alaina Conners finished in sixth place with a final throw of 31.51. Journey Myricks threw 32.70 meters earning her fifth place and Piper took fourth place with a distance of 34.81 meters. Finishing third overall, with a distance of 36.56 meters, Bjelko. Piper and Bjelko also qualified for SUNYAC’s in this event as well as Rhoads.
In the women’s discus, Rhoads finished in sixth after throwing 30.69 meters, just behind Piper who threw a distance of 30.95 meters. Both qualified for SUNYAC’s in this event as well. Finishing in second place overall, with not only a SUNYAC qualifying mark, but an AARTFC qualifying mark as well, was Myricks with a distance of 36.68.
“Hitting the regional mark especially this early on was very exciting,” Myricks said. “Since it is my senior year and I have been through many ups and downs since coming to SUNY Plattsburgh, I’m glad that I get to prove to myself and everyone else that hard work and determination pays off and that you can count on me to get the job done.”
For the men’s javelin throw, Jorge Cabrera finished seventh overall with a distance of 22.41 meters. In the men’s discus, Spencer Trudo placed seventh after throwing 29.08 meters, finishing just behind Cabrera who threw a final distance of 29.09 meters. Aiden Tous finished with a throw of 35.22 meters earning him fourth place. For the final event, men’s hammer throw, Trudo placed seventh again with a throw of 29.71 meters. Tous ended in fifth place after a throw of 33.10 meters. Cabrera ended in fourth place with a final distance of 35.35 meters.
Looking to the next meet at Cortland, head coach Andrew Krug said, “[This meet] will be a great chance for us to turn up the intensity and practice those nerves, so it’s not only a chance for us to compete at a higher level, but also to work on the mental game as well.”
Barber and Van Buren were awarded the “Builder of the Week” award, which is voted on by the team based upon the hard work they put in throughout the week and the results they earned at the meet. The men’s and women’s teams compete again next weekend, April 9, at the Cortland Red Dragon open.
