GENESEO, NY -- The track & field teams traveled to SUNY Geneseo on Friday and Saturday to compete in the Genesel Early Season Invitational. The javelin and hammer throw were contested on Friday, in very good conditions. On Saturday, temperatures in the 40s with rain and heavy winds met the teams upon their arrival. the women's 10,000m and discus throw got the worst of it, as conditions slowly improved during the day. The high winds remained, but rain ceased and temperatures rose.
With the backstretch being a wall of wind, the full lap events did their best to battle through the conditions. The 10,000m races results in six of the seven competing Houghton athletes achieving the Empire 8 time standard.
Noelle Linenfelser and
Luke Ellis both ended up second in the race. Ellis grabbed the lead going into the final lap, but was outkicked by Nazareth's Cam Almy.
Emberlynn Nolt was fourth, and
Ben Allen and
Sam Lyon cruised to a third and fourth place finish. The short sprints enjoyed a moderate wind at their back, and the Houghton athletes took advantage of this and put out some incredible marks.
Victoria Brewster and
Evan Kurtz enjoyed two program records each in the 100m and 200m. Brewster finished 2nd in the 100m to rival Brynn Mooney from Geneseo. Her time of 11.97 marks the first Houghton sprinter to break 12.00 in the 100m, and puts her at NCAA #15. She returned in the 200m to a hotly contested heat. Mooney once again won the race in an NCAA #2 mark. Brewster crossed the line in 4th with a big personal best and program record of 25.28. Kurtz followed suit with a program record and 4th place finish in the 100m in a time of 10.80. He then broke 22.00 for the first time and improved his program record to 21.94, which was also 4th place at the meet. Other notable performances were
Alexa Belanger in the high jump and 200m. She improved her outdoor mark in the HJ to 1.68m, which sits at NCAA #3. Her personal best time of 26.80 in the 200m is t-8th all time in Houghton history and #10 in the Empire 8 this year.
Amos Bixler made a big move in lap three of the 1500m to finish 5th, and the top NCAA DIII finisher, in the 1500m. His mark of 4:02.90 is 4th in the Empire 8 this year.
Coach Beauregard had some thoughts after the meet, "We looked at today as an opportunity to see how we can compete through harsh conditions. It was fun to go out against some of the other great teams in the E8 (Genese, Brockport, Alfred, Fisher, Nazareth). Getting 21 personal best performances through that weather was awesome. They showed they can compete no matter what's going on around them. Tori and Evan are picking right up from where they left off indoor. This is the type of rhythm we wanted going into Brockport next week, which gives them a lot of confidence."
RESULTS
The squad will be split next weekend with several distance runners competing at Bucknell University Distance Carnival on Saturday, and a majority of the team at SUNY Brockport, also on Saturday.
