Sarah Couperus (Marion, N.Y.), a junior, won the high jump by clearing 1.62 meters (5 feet, 3.75 inches), just short of her indoor personal-best (1.63 meters) and the 39th best jump this winter in NCAA Division III. She also finished second in the triple jump at 10.41 meters (34 feet, 1.75 inches).
Brittany Feldman (Jamestown, N.Y.), also a junior, hit the tape in the 400 meters in 58.34 seconds, first among 43 women entered in 10 heats. She moved up to No. 14 on the NCAA D-III 400-meter indoor qualifying list.
There were 21 women in the 5,000 meters, eight from Fredonia. The group was headed by Blue Devil sophomore Hannah Kurbs (Lockport, N.Y.). Her winning time was 18:41.56, about two seconds off her personal best, set outdoors.
Here are some other Fredonia highlights:
FIELD EVENTS -- In the pole vault, Fredonia's duo of Kristen Sawyer (Lockport, N.Y.) and Mikayla Capestrani (Jamestown, N.Y.) were sixth and seventh, respectively, in a field of 23. Each cleared 3.26 meters (10 feet, 8.25 inches); Sawyer had one fewer miss … Fredonia had two advance to finals in a field of 55 shot-putters. Rachel Williams (Lockport, N.Y.) was eighth and Anneliese Bienko (Clarence, N.Y.) ninth with throws of 11.54 and 11.36 meters, respectively … In addition to Couperus winning, junior Miranda Warner (Westfield, N.Y.) tied for eighth in the high jump. Other personal-bests, first-time competitors excluded: senior Naji McCallar (Buffalo, N.Y.) in both the shot put (11.21 meters) and the weight throw (12.12 meters);
RUNNING EVENTS -- Teammates of Kurbs in the 5,000 included fourth-place finisher Brenna Donovan (18:47.91), plus two others in the top 10: senior Julia Johnson (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) in eighth and senior Kara Hall (Fredonia, N.Y.) in ninth. Donovan's time was a personal-best … Carly DeBono (Medford, N.Y.), a sophomore, was fifth in 11:05.20 in the 3,000 meters. There were 32 finishers. Other personal-bests, first-time competitors excluded: sophomore Tori Barnes (Pittsford, N.Y.) in the 5,000 meters (21:08.29); senior Rebekah Champlin (Rushville, N.Y.) in the 5,000 (19:54.29); senior Kelly Vincent (Randolph, N.Y.) in the 5,000 (19:37.61)
Haines, a junior, passed until the bar reached 4.30 meters. He made the height, then cleared 4.45 meters, and then 4.60 (15 feet, 1 inch), the 28th best vault so far this winter in NCAA Division III. He made three unsuccessful attempts at 4.70 meters. His previous best vault was 4.56 meters indoors and 4.50 meters outdoors.
Other Fredonia highlights;
FIELD EVENTS -- Blue Devil senior Kyle Brown (Hamburg, N.Y.) improved by over a half-meter in the 35-pound weight throw to finish third. Damone Brown (Haverstraw, N.Y.) was eighth in a field of 42. Kyle Brown's best throw came on his fourth attempt: a personal-best 17.06 meters (55 feet, 11.50 inches), which moved him up to No. 21 on the NCAA indoor qualifying list and third all time in Fredonia history. His previous-best was 16.48 meters. Damone Brown's eighth-place attempt was measured at 13.89 meters (45 feet, 6.75 inches), also a personal-best. Other personal-bests, excluding first-time competitors: junior Mitchel Paciga (Jeffersonville, N.Y.) in the pole vault (3.70 meters)
RUNNING EVENTS -- Fredonia had two groups entered in the 4,000-meter Distance Medley Relay. The "B" group of junior Merlin Joseph (Binghamton, N.Y.), freshman Larry Durski (Blasdell, N.Y.), freshman Aidan Pollard (Lindenhurst, N.Y.), and senior Bobby Cooper (Macedon, N.Y.) finished second, in 10:54.75 -- .86 of one second out of first. Fredonia also ran an "A" group, which finished fourth … Ethan Francis (Dunkirk, N.Y.), a sophomore, was fifth in the mile in 4:33.44. There were 46 runners overall … Led by senior Pat Shenal (Henrietta, N.Y.), Fredonia had three in the top nine of the 800 meters. Shenal was fifth (2:00.33), followed by Cooper in seventh (2:02.04) and Joseph in ninth (2:02.91) ... Other personal-bests, excluding first-time competitors: sophomore Zak Kellerman (Depew, N.Y.) in the mile (4:47.0)
The Blue Devils are back at it this weekend at the Tiffin University Dragon Invite.