RIT set to host Liberty League indoor track and field championship Saturday

RIT set to host Liberty League indoor track and field championship Saturday

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The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is set to host the 2017 Liberty League Indoor Track & Field Championship this Saturday on February 11 at Gordon Field House in Rochester, N.Y. Events are scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. Teams competing in the Liberty League championship include RPI, Union, St. Lawrence and host RIT in both Men’s and Women’s Track & Field.

2017 Liberty League Indoor Track & Field Championship Page
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MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP

RIT will be looking to repeat at this year’s Liberty League Indoor Men’s Track & Field championship after the Tigers captured their third title in five years, last February.

It was a team effort for RIT, a year ago, as their victory was highlighted by four individual victories, including wins in the 60-meter hurdles (senior Myles Garner) and the 60-meter dash (junior Markus Hines). Garner and Hines are back for their senior and junior campaigns, respectively, and both are among league leaders in their events this year. Hines is the two-time defending champion of the 60-meter dash and the Tigers currently boast four of the top-10 performances in the event this season. Sophomore Matthew Lienhard will also be a key contributor as he is among league leaders in the 60-meter (T-1st 7.05) and 200-meter (2nd, 22.80) dashes. RIT is also expected to do well in the relays as they have the top times in the league in the Distance Medley Relay (10:39.72) as well as the 4x200 (1:32.77). In the pole vault, sophomore Ethan Maguire and senior Austin White share top honors in the league with leaps of 4.70 meters.

RPI should have a strong showing at this year’s championship, thanks to senior Matt Vitagliano, last year’s Co-Field Performer of the meet, sophomores Grant O’Connor, the 2016 Liberty League Rookie of the Year, and Sean O’Connor, as well as senior Ben Fazio. Vitagliano has paced the Engineers in the triple jump (13.97m) and long jump (6.40m) this season. He won both events at last year’s championship. Both O’Connors and Fazio lead the team in the distance events. Fazio has the best league times in the mile (4:12.46) and 3,000-meters (8:27.08) while Grant is tops in the 5,000-meters (14:50.14) and Sean among league leaders in the 5,000 and 3,000. A year ago, Grant was second in the 5,000 and Sean was sixth in the 3,000. Freshman Dale Kelly, a two-time Liberty League Rookie of the Week, will also make an impact as a top sprinter, he currently leads the league in the 60 and 200-meter dashes with times of 7.05 and 22.75 seconds, respectively.

Junior Harrison Stivers will be one of St. Lawrence’s key performers in the track events and Connor Pease will lead the Saints in the field events. Stivers currently leads the league in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.65 and he is also among the top-ten in the 60-meter dash (4th, 7:20) as well as 200 (7th, 23.42). Last year, he was third in the 400 and he was also part of the Saints’ winning 4x200 and 4x400 relays. Pease, a two-time Liberty League Field Performer of the Week this season, is second among league leaders in the weight throw (15.19m) and is among league leaders in the shot put. Freshman twins Cole and Liam Burbage are two of the Saints top rookies as both compete in the 60-meter hurdles, high jump and pole vault and each have earned Liberty League Rookie of the Week honors. Their top event this season is the high jump as Cole is tied for fourth (1.88m) and Liam, seventh (1.80m) in the Liberty League.

WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP

St. Lawrence University will be seeking its seventh straight league title as the Saints have captured ten of the last eleven Liberty League Women’s Indoor Track & Field championships. Two of the teams on the women’s side are ranked among the top-25 nationally in the latest United State Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) rankings—Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI, 14) and St. Lawrence (21).

St. Lawrence is led by junior Megan Kellogg, who placed among the top-four in both the mile and the 800 meter at last year’s championship. This season, she currently leads all Liberty League runners in the mile (5:00.84), which ranks her 8th nationally. In the 800 meters, she is second among league leaders with a time of 2:20.05. Kellogg is also a part of St. Lawrence’s Distance Medley Relay, along with freshman Leah Livernois, senior Molly Lennon and sophomore Cassidy Scott. The quartet is currently ranked third in all of Division III (12:17.49). Junior Meghann Wood will pace the Saints in the field events, after winning the shot put, a year ago. She is currently second among league leaders in that event with a throw of 12.37 meters.

RPI is poised to make a run at the title as junior Jaime Lord, the 2015-16 Indoor Track Performer of the Year continues to be one of the league’s top competitors in the distance events. She currently sits in second in the mile (5:08.33) and leads the league in the 3,000 meters (10:09.03). Nationally, she is ranked 31st and 18th, respectively. Sophomores Marissa Folk and Jillian Salkind will lead the Engineers in the field events. Folk was named Rookie of the Meet at last year’s championship, where she placed second in the weight throw and fourth in the shot put. She currently leads the league in the weight throw (14.84m) and is among the top-five in the shot put (11.22m). Salkind competed in the high, long and triple jumps last year. This season, she has the league’s best mark in the high jump (1.62m) and she is currently fourth in the long jump (5.10m).

RIT will also look to end the Saints’ championship streak as many of their Track & Field student-athletes are league leaders this season. Seniors Kendra Bush and Emma Jones will lead the Tigers. Bush, who took a third (weight throw) and a second (shot put) at last year’s championship, currently has the league’s best shot put throw at 12.68 meters. Jones is also one of the league’s top distance runners as she competed in the mile (fourth) and 3,000 meters (third), last year. She currently ranks third in the mile and 800 among Liberty League competition. Underclassmen have also been making an impact for RIT as sophomore Marissa Dispenza leads the league in three events—60 meters (8.32), 400 meters (1:00.07) and 60 meter hurdles (9.50). Fellow classmate Becca Schwan, the 2016-17 Liberty League Women’s Indoor Track & Field Rookie of the Year, is tops in the league in the 800 (2:19.42) and freshman Samantha Kaplan, three-time league Rookie of the Week recipient, paces the league in the pole vault with a leap of 3.35 meters.

Union College senior Noemie Bechu will also compete in this year’s championship after taking second in the 400 and 200 meter dashes in 2016. She currently leads the league in the 200 with a time of 26.74.