Track and field dominates SUNYAC tournament again
On Saturday, Feb. 24, both the men’s and women’s track and field teams earned their seventh-straight State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Championship. This comes after an incredible season by both teams, and an even better performance in the championship meet at SUNY Brockport.
The event spanned over two days, each of which saw success from the Knights. During the first day, senior Charlie Wilson took first place in the 5000m with a time of 15:18.40, while six other Knights filled out the top seven, earning 38 points. Geneseo added seven more points on the day after the team consisting of freshman Pierce Young, graduate student Zach Gauronski, juniors Matthew Sheehan and Micah McCulley finished fourth in the distance medley relay while sophomore Drew Alloco placed seventh in the pole vault. After day one, the Knights sat in second place, trailing Cortland by 11 points.
On day one, the women’s team truly dominated the competition. Geneseo earned 29 points very early, as five athletes placed in the top eight during the pentathlon. Junior Janelle Eckl took first with a score of 3372, but other Knights were just a few points behind, taking second, third, fourth, and seventh in the event. Another 29 points were added as senior Ally Alvira claimed first in the triple jump after leaping an incredible 12.14m, moving her to second all-time in program history. Sophomore Lauren Jaklitsch ran the score up even further with a first-place finish in the weight throw at 16.55m. Geneseo led in several more events and finished the day in first place by over 50 points.
The men’s team started off hot on the track for day two, taking an early second-place finish in the 60m hurdles. Junior Bryan Jacobs finished best among the Knights with a time of 8.31 seconds. In the mile, Geneseo owned three of the top eight spots with freshman Ryan Hagan placing second after running an impressive 4:13.94. Senior Lance Jensen went on to set a meet and facility record in the 400m, running a stunning 48.23 and earning ten points for Geneseo. Still, down by a significant amount, Geneseo came in clutch with big performances in the 3000m, 4x400 relay, and heptathlon, leading them to a nail-biting victory over second-place Cortland. Their major comeback during day two pushed the Knights to their seventh-straight SUNYAC title, all of which under head coach Chris Popovici.
The women’s team entered day two in a much more comfortable situation as they were far ahead of second-place Brockport. They quickly earned 16 points as three runners placed in the top five during the 60m hurdles, which the men’s team also thrived in. Junior Katie Grossman took first place in the mile with a time of 5:15.53 while two more Knights earned top-five finishes. The 3000m was highlighted by Geneseo taking the top three spots. Junior Penelope Greene led the charge, clocking in at 9:53.56. The Knights continued to shine in nearly every event that followed, giving them a commanding victory over the competition. At the end of day two, Geneseo was crowned victorious as they scored a whopping 270 and were ahead of second-place finisher—Brockport—by over 150 points. This victory was also their seventh consecutive SUNYAC title, with Popovici also at the reins.
Both teams will look to continue their successes at the Atlantic Regional Championships at Nazareth, beginning on Friday, Mar. 1 and concluding the following day.