RIT set to host 2018 Liberty League Outdoor Track & Field Championships

RIT set to host 2018 Liberty League Outdoor Track & Field Championships

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The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is hosting the 2018 Liberty League Outdoor Track & Field Championships this Friday, May 4 and Saturday, May 5 at Tiger Stadium in Rochester, N.Y. The championships have changed from a mid-April single day meet to a two-day event at the beginning of May. Events are scheduled to begin with the Men’s Pole Vault and the 100-meter dash portion of the men’s decathlon at noon on Friday. Events will be all day until approximately 6:50 pm, concluding with the women’s 10,000 meter run. On Saturday, the second day of the championship starts at 10:00 a.m. with the Men’s Decathlon 110-meter hurdles and the Women’s Heptathlon long jump. The meet will finish up after the 4x400 meter relays, where there will be a presentation of team and special awards. Bard College, Ithaca College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), host RIT, St. Lawrence University, University of Rochester, Union College and Vassar College are the eight schools competing in both Men’s and Women’s Track & Field. Ithaca College became a full member of the league in July and Rochester Track & Field also joined the conference last summer.

Meet Schedule | Live Results | Championship Webpage (RIT)
 
Men’s Championship

RPI will be looking for its tenth straight Liberty League Outdoor Track & Field title as the Engineers head into this weekend’s championship. In the latest USTFCCCA Atlantic Region Regional Rankings, the Engineers are the top team in the league as they are ranked second. There are also three other league teams among the top-15 in Ithaca (8th), RIT (11th) and St. Lawrence (13th).  

At last year’s championship, RPI cruised to a 45-point victory and the Engineers will once again have depth in both track and field events. Grant O’Connor and Sean O’Connor pace the team in the long distance events. Grant not only leads the league in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters but he also boasts the top time in all of Division III for the 10,000 (29:19.53) and is ranked second in the 5,000 (14:10.60). Sean is amongst Division III’s top-20 in the 10,000 (19th, 14:36.26) and is second among Liberty League competition. He is also ranked 20th nationally in the 3,000 meter steeplechase (9:19.44). Dale Kelly is one of the league’s top sprinters and he won the 200 meters at last year’s championship (22.31). This season he is ranked second among league leaders in the 200, clocking in a time of 22.20 and fourth in the 100-meters with a time of 11.00. Matt Vitagliano and Mark Shapiro headline the squad in the field events. Vitagliano won the triple jump a year ago (13.81m) and continues to lead the league as he is ranked sixth nationally with a jump of 14.73 meters. Shaprio paces the league in the throwing events with league-leading tosses in the shot put and discus with throws of 15.35 and 46.96 meters respectively. He is among the top-50 nationally at 43rd in both events and he is also second in the Liberty League in the hammer throw (47.63m).

Ithaca is coming off their first Liberty League title as they captured the Indoor Track & Field championship in February. The Bombers will be led by Daniel Harden-Marshall, who is currently 14th in Division III in the 400 meters with a time of 48.19. He is tops in the league for the 400, 100-meters (10.88) and 200 meters (22.16). Harden-Marshall also competes in the long jump where he paces the league with a jump of 6.90 meters. David Dorsey is the team’s top competitor in the pole vault with a leap of 4.70 meters, good for second in the Liberty League and 30th in Division III. Seth Abbott is among the league’s top-25 in seven different events, which is highlighted by being ranked second in the 400-meter hurdles (57.23), fifth in the high jump (1.82m), ninth in the pole vault (4.20m) as well as the javelin (48.55m) and 110-meter hurdles (16.37). Ithaca also leads the league with the top 4x400 relay time of the season, 3:18.86.

RIT should be strong in the field events, thanks to Ethan Maguire and Daniel Giuliano. Maguire has the league’s top leap in the pole vault at 4.71 meters. Giuliano is tops in the league for 110-meter hurdles (14.98) and second in the long jump (6.86m). RIT also has the best 4x100 relay time against league competition, with a time of 42.62. Otto Kingstedt is also a strong contender in the long distance events. He is ranked second in the Liberty League in the 10,000 meters with a time of 30:29.03, good for 18th in Division III.

Gordon White and Ian Clough headline the St. Lawrence squad at this year’s championship. Both will be a threat in the short distance events as the duo are ranked among the top-ten in both the 100-meters and 200-meters as well as the top-20 in the long jump. In the 100, White is second in the league at 10.89 while Clough is third and only one-tenth of second behind at 10.90. In the 200, White is fifth (22.54) and Clough is seventh (22.72). White is third in the long jump (6.84m) and Clough is 20th (6.05m). Dylan Babcock will be key in the throwing events, as he is currently among the league’s top-10 in the hammer (45.92m), shot put (12.79m) and discus (37.47m) at fourth, fifth and eighth respectively.

Women’s Championship

RPI will be defending is 2017 Liberty League Women’s Outdoor Track & Field title as the Engineers are seeking their third consecutive title and it won’t be easy with the additions of Ithaca and Rochester to the mix this season. Ithaca is ranked 11th in the most recent USTFCCCA Division III Women’s Outdoor Track & Field National Rankings. In the regional rankings for the Atlantic Region, the Bombers are third, Rochester is seventh and RPI rounds out the top-10.

At last year’s championship, the Engineers won with 240 points, narrowly defeating second place RIT by just 10.5 points. This season, RPI will be led by Jaime Lord, Lauren Parker, Vera Titze and Jillian Salkind. Lord is among the league’s best in distance running as she is second in both the 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters with times of 4:44.47 and 16:52.65. In the 5,000, she is ranked ninth nationally. Parker and Salkind both compete in the high jump and they are ranked one-two in the event on the Liberty League performance list. Parker leads the league with a jump of 1.65 meters while Salkind is not far behind at 1.62 meters. Both are ranked in Division III at 18th and 36th. Salkind is also among the league’s top-11 in the long jump at 11th (5.05m). Titze is the team’s top sprinter as she is third in the Liberty League in the 400-meters with a time of 59.94 and tenth in the 200-meters at 27 seconds. Marissa Folk will help in the discus (5th, 36.36m), shot put (9th, 10.59m) and hammer throw (10th, 38.47m) as she is among the league’s top-ten in all three events.

Ithaca is poised to make a run at this year’s Outdoor Track and Field title as the Bombers are coming off a Liberty League Indoor Track & Field championship as well as ten straight Empire 8 Outdoor Track & Field titles. Katherine Pitman, the Indoor Track & Field Pole Vault NCAA champion, continues to dominate as she just broke the women’s Division III mark in the pole vault at 4.31 meters. Taryn Cordani is also making a mark this season as she leads the country in the 10,000 meters with a time of 33:44.06. She is also fourth in the 5,000 meters with a time of 16:42.59. Alexandra Rheaume will also be a key contributor as she paces the league in the 200-meters (25.17) and 400-meters (58.12). She is also fifth in the 100-meters (12.73). Ithaca has the top times in both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays with times of 48.57 and 3:58.11 respectively.

Rochester is also competing in the Liberty League Outdoor Track & Field championship for the first time. They have a number of athletes ranked nationally and will also make a run for the 2018 title. Kylee Bartlett headlines the team as she is tenth nationally in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.56. Against league leaders, she is ranked in seven other events, including first in the heptathlon with 4,382 points, third in the long jump (5.40m) and javelin (35.90m) and fourth in the high jump (1.55m). Michaela Burrell is also one of the Yellowjackets’ top performers as she paces the league in the 100-meters with a time of 12.19, good for 20th among Division III. She is also second in the league in the 200-meters (25.24) and 400-meters (59.85). Rachel Bargabos and Eileen Bequette also add some depth to the team. Bargabos is second against league competition in the 10,000 meters at 37:29.56 and fourth in the 5,000 meters at 37:29.56. Bequette is ranked among league leaders in eight different events, which is highlighted by being ranked fifth in the 100-meter hurdles (15.62) and eighth in three (200-meters, 400-meters and javelin).

RIT will rely on a trio of top performers to lead the way for the Tigers in this year’s championship in Kaitlyn Houghtling, Harley Wilson and Becca Schwan. Houghtling is tops in the league in the long jump with a jump of 5.49 meters. She is also fifth in the triple jump (10.47m) and 11th in the 100-meters (13.21). Wilson has made an immediate impact for RIT in her rookie campaign as she leads the league in the 400-meter hurdles (1:01.71) good for fifth nationally. She is also 12th in the 400-meters (1:02.63). Schwan will look to defend her individual title in the 800 meters (2:16.98) from a year ago as she is currently third with a time of 2:19.13. She is also fifth in the 1,500 meters at 4:47.51 and 11th in the 400 meters at 1:02.62. Marissa Dispenza is also a defending champion as she won the 100-meter hurdles last year (15.43) and is currently ranked third (15.48). She is also third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:05.19.

St. Lawrence’s Meghan Kellogg will look to make some noise in her final Liberty League championship as she ranks fourth among league leaders in the 10,000 meters with a time of 38:54.70. Mary Terhune will also be key for the Saints as she is among the league’s top-10 in two events, the 800-meters and the 1,500 meters. She is second in the 800, clocking in a time of 2:16.23 and seventh in the 1,500 at 4:49.35.