Vassar to host the 2017 Liberty League Outdoor Track & Field Championships
Vassar College will host the 2017 Liberty League Outdoor Track & Field Championships this Saturday, April 22 at Weinberg Track. Events are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Team competing in the Liberty League championship include: Bard, RPI, RIT, St. Lawrence and host Vassar.
Directions to Vassar’s athletics venues can be found by clicking HERE.
Meet Schedule (PDF) is available HERE.
Live Video of the meet will be available on the web by clicking HERE.
Live Results of the meet will be available on the web by clicking HERE.
Liberty League Outdoor Track and Field Records are available HERE.
Liberty League Outdoor Track and Field History is available for the men HERE and women HERE.
MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) will be seeking its ninth straight Liberty League Track & Field championship as the Engineers have dominated the event with team titles every year since 2009. RPI, once again, cruised to victory last year with 271 points, nearly 100 points better than second-place RIT (173) and third-place St. Lawrence (172).
On the track….there will be plenty of competition in the distance events. St. Lawrence senior Thomas Caulfield currently owns the league’s top time in the 1,500 and is ranked 17th nationally with a time of 3:54.67. RPI senior and Liberty League Indoor Track Athlete of the Year Ben Fazio is not far behind (3:59.97) with the league’s second-best time in the event. RIT freshman Otto Kingstedt ranks second nationally in the 10,000 after smashing a school record at the Bucknell Bison Classic last weekend with a time of 29:38.43. His time was one of the top-25 all-time in Division III history. St. Lawrence sophomore Sidi Abdoulaye paces the league in the 5,000 (15:00.03) and is among the top-ten in the 1,500 along with RPI sophomores Sean O’Connor and Grant O’Connor. Vassar senior Gabe Fishman is also someone to watch in the 800 (1st, 1:55.35) and the 1,500 (7th, 4:03.66).
In the field…The Engineers continue to demonstrate excellence in the field events with a RPI student-athlete leading the league in seven of the eight events. RPI freshman George Gonatas has the league’s top throws in the shot put and discus at 14.24m and 44.91m, respectively. RPI junior Terrence Lawrence has also helped the Engineers in his first year with the program, with a league-best high jump of 1.93 meters, tying him with Bard senior Garrett Clifton. Classmate Matt Vitagliano has top marks in the triple jump (14.26m) and RPI senior Mike Pesanello paces the league in the hammer throw (54.67m). RIT seniors Michael Whelton and Austin White share top honors in the pole vault with respective leaps of 4.56m.
WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
RPI captured its first league title since 2011 last year; breaking a four-year consecutive winning streak for St. Lawrence (2012-2016). The Engineers defeated the Saints by 30 points for the team title with 266 total points to St. Lawrence’s 236. RIT rounded out the top-three with 140 points but the Tigers are coming off their first-ever Liberty League title at the Indoor Track & Field Championship and they are sure to make some noise on Saturday.
On the track….St. Lawrence junior Megan Kellogg and senior Lisa Grohn are the league’s top distance runners as both are ranked among the top-three in both the 1,500 and 5,000. Kellogg boasts the league’s top-time in both events, which also ranks her nationally, fourth in the 5,000 (16:45.58) and 15th in the 1,500 (4:36.71). RIT senior Emma Jones will also compete in the 1,500; she currently ranks second with a time of 4:38.36. St. Lawrence freshman Caroline Driscoll and RPI Andrea Squeri will also be runners to watch in the distance events, especially the 5,000 as they currently rank third and fourth. Union College senior Noemie Bechu continues to dominate in the sprinting events and she currently paces the league in both the 200 (25.27) and 400 (57.98). The 4x100 meter relay should be a tight race as RPI (50.16), RIT (20.22) and St. Lawrence (50.67) are separated by mere tenths of a second.
In the field…RIT has been consistently strong in the field events this season, with leaders among the top-five in all eight events. Senior Jessica Calzolari has the league’s top distance in the triple jump (11.26m) and is fifth in the javelin (28.34m). Senior Kendra Bush has also been a key contributor with throws of 38.32m and 42.49m in the discus and hammer, good for first and fourth, respectively. RPI senior Melinda Wilson paces the Engineers with a tie for first in the discus (38.32m) and a league-best throw of 45.38m in the hammer. RPI sophomores Jillian Salkind (1.63m) and Lauren Parker (1.59m) lead the high jump while Vassar freshman Jackie Cenan is ranked among the top-six in both the shot put and discus.