The women had a good weekend, which was highlighted by freshman Kristen Sawyer breaking the school record in the pole vault with a vault of 11’4.25”. The previous record was 10’8”. She finished second in the event. The women had a total of 13 SUNYAC qualifiers at Kent State.
Other top finishers included sophomore Laura Morrisson, finishing second in the 800 meter dash, junior Lauren Kotas, finishing third in the 3,000 meter run, and senior Nicole Desens, finishing eighth in the shot put. Sophomore Alyssa Stroud ran a personal best time of 18:32.87 in the 5,000 meter run, beating her previous best from last season by almost a minute and a half. Senior Jenna Fiacco also had a personal best in the weight throw with a toss of 13.97 meters, or 45’10”.
The men also had a strong open to their season. They had a total of 13 athletes hit qualifying marks for the SUNYAC. Among their top finishers were Zakk Hess, who finished second in the 5,000 meter race on Friday, and followed that up by finishing first in the 3,000 meter race on Saturday. Jeremy Kozlowski had a strong showing in the 200 and 400 meter dashes, qualifying for SUNYAC’s in both events.
This meet was the first chance for the multis to compete in a heptathlon. Senior Doug Imperi and freshman Mitch Paciga both competed in this event. Doug finished up in 12th place, while Mitch finished up in 13th place. Doug was able to hit a SUNYAC mark in the pole vault, while Mitch hit SUNYAC marks in the high jump and 60 meter hurdles.
Several freshman for the Blue Devils had a very good start to their careers. Four were able to hit SUNYAC marks in their first collegiate event, Chase Towse in the 200 and 400 meter dash, Damone Brown in the shot put, Rocky Caparro in the triple jump and high jump, and Mitch mentioned above.
The Blue Devils will now go on their Winter Break. They will look to keep up the great start when they return to competition on Saturday, January 17th at RIT.