FINAL RESULTS (COMPLETE)
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The 2023 Liberty League Outdoor Track & Field Championships wrapped up on Saturday at the University of Rochester's Edwin Fauver Stadium in the Brian F. Prince Athletic Complex with the final 30 events (15 men's, 15 women's) of the championship.
The University of Rochester claimed its second straight Liberty League outdoor title as the Yellowjackets overcame a 15-point deficit on day two to win the championship, compiling 223.5 points over the two days to narrowly edge runner-up Ithaca College by 3.5 points. The Bombers finished with 220 while RPI accumulated 96 for third and St. Lawrence posted 82.5 to finish fourth. The Saints were followed by RIT and Vassar, who tied for fifth with 78 points apiece as well as Union (39), and Bard (1).
RPI finished as a team atop the leaderboard for the first time since the spring of 2021. The Engineers maintained their lead after pacing the field by 15 points following day one competition. The team ended the two-day championship with 224 points, nine ahead of runner-up University of Rochester (215). RIT and Ithaca were third and fourth with 172 and 111 points respectively. St. Lawrence (49), Union (25), Vassar (19), and Bard (1) rounded out the eight teams.
FINAL TEAM SCORES
- WOMEN: 1. Rochester, 223.5; 2. Ithaca, 220; 3. RPI, 96; 4. St. Lawrence, 82.5; 5. RIT, 78; 5.Vassar, 78; 7. Union, 39; 8. Bard, 1
- MEN: 1. RPI, 224; 2. University of Rochester, 215; 3. RIT, 172; 4. Ithaca, 111; 5. St. Lawrence, 49; 6. Union, 25; 7. Vassar, 19; 8. Bard, 1
MEET AWARDS
- WOMEN:
- Track Performer of the Meet: Susan Bansbach, Rochester – Bansbach earned Outdoor Track Performer of the Meet honors for the second straight year. She won the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes and was part of both winning relays for the Yellowjackets. In the 200, Bansbach shattered the facility, championship meet, and conference records with a time of 24.59 seconds, which is currently ranked 16th in Division III. In the 400, she recorded a time of 55.47 seconds. In the 4x100, Bansbach and her teammates Madeline O'Connell, Kristin Hardy, and Megan Bell to another record time; breaking facility, championship meet, and conference records (47.27). They also set a meet record in the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:48.75.
- Field Performer of the Meet: Logan Bruce, Ithaca – Bruce was also recognized as Field Performer of the Meet for the second straight year. In seven events, she recorded a pair of first-place finishes, two runner-up showings, two fourths, and a fifth. Among those seven, four were field events. She opened the championship with a victory in the long jump at 5.76 meters. She was second in the high jump at 1.58 meters, fourth in the triple jump (11.18m), and fifth in the javelin (33.71m).
- MEN:
- Track Performer of the Meet: Justin Jantzi, RIT – RIT junior Justin Jantzi won the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.55 seconds and he was also first in the 400-meter dash, crossing the finish line with a meet record time of 48.21 seconds. He also had a hand in both of RIT's relays, the winning 4x400 at 3:15.21, which broke the conference record set by Rochester in 2019 (3:16.90), and the third-place 4x100 (42.32).
- Co-Field Performer of the Meet: Josh Cohen, RPI – RPI senior Josh Cohen won both the discus and the hammer at this year's championship. In the discus, his throw of 50.29 meters was a win by nearly 3.5 meters. His discus throw was his season's best, ranking him 15th in Division III.
- Co-Field Performer of the Meet: Cole Goodman, University of Rochester – Rochester sophomore Cole Goodman also recorded a pair of first-place finishes at the meet. He currently ranks second in Division III in the triple jump at 15.25 meters on his fourth attempt. He also won the long jump, hitting 7.34 meters on his fifth attempt.
DAY TWO HIGHLIGHTS
WOMEN
- In the 100-meter hurdles, Ithaca graduate student Logan Bruce set a conference and championship meet record with her win, crossing the finish line in 13.93 seconds. She also matched the facility record.
- University of Rochester senior Madeline O'Connell and junior Kate Isaac finished first and second in the 100-meter dash. O'Connell clocked a time of 12.21 seconds and Isaac finished at 12.42 seconds.
- Ithaca senior Paloma DeMonte was the top finisher in the 800-meter run (2:17.69). St. Lawrence sophomore Allison Sibold took second place finishing less than a second behind DeMonte and Union sophomore Alayna Gibson was third at 2:20.93.
- RPI dominated the distance events as the top-three finishes in the 5,000 meters were Engineers. Senior Morgan Lee paced the RPI trio and the field of 18 with a time of 17:30.54. Senior Nia Goddard was nearly 10 seconds behind to finish second at 17:40.22 and sophomore Olivia Pisacano was third at 17:50.81.
- Vassar first-year Jahmilia Dennis earned her first outdoor gold of her career in the triple jump at 11.72 meters.
- In the high jump, Ithaca placed one-two-three with sophomore Charly Slusser leading the way at 1.63 meters. Logan Bruce was second at 1.58 meters and first-year Cecelia LaBonte was third at 1.53 meters.
- Rochester junior Ashley Heffernan compiled 4,642 points to win the heptathlon by over 400 points. Her victory was highlighted by a quartet of first-place finishes in the hep events—the 200-meter dash, 800-meter run, 100-meter hurdles, and long jump. Ithaca junior Moriah Byrd was the runner-up with 4,223 points.
MEN
- RPI's depth in the distance events was on full display, among the top seven in the 1,500—three were from RPI. Senior Matt Lecky finished first at 3:48.98, setting facility and meet records. Sophomore Davis Piercy was third at 3:52.61 and sophomore Matthew Smalling was seventh (3:56.65).
- In the 5,000 meters, RPI had the top-three finishers in sophomore Cory Kennedy (1st, 14:40.54), junior Jason Gibbons (2nd, 14:41.08), and sophomore Mitchell Dailey (14:44.91). They all finished the event in less than 14:45.
- Ithaca senior Andy Frank was the 100-meter dash champion with a time of 10.80 seconds.
- Ithaca senior Nate Oczkowski was the top hurdler in the 400-meters (53.51) while Rochester senior Peter Brodnick won the 110-meter hurdles in under 15 seconds (14.99). Ockowski was the runner-up in the 110 at 15.10 seconds and Brodnik was fifth in the 400 (56.71).
- Rochester senior Scott Sikorski earned gold in the 800-meter run, crossing the finish line with a time of 1:52.16. He also set a meet record with the victory.
- The 4x100 men's relay was one of the closest races of the day with the Rochester squad beating out runner-up Ithaca by the slimmest of margins, 42.306 seconds to 42.309 seconds. RIT's quartet was third at 42.32 seconds.
- Rochester was the top league team in the decathlon with the top-three finishers from the Yellowjackets. Senior Alex Opsahl paced the trio with 6,534 points finishing over 100 points ahead of junior Aeden Angelone (6,420), who earned silver. Sophomore Gabe Thyne earned the bronze with 5,527 points. First-year Jack Maness was also among the top seven in seventh (4918). Opsahl currently sits in seven among Division III leaders. He recorded a trio of first-place finishes in the shot put (13.18m), high jump (1.95m), and discus throw (34.64m).