The men's and women's track teams had their SUNYAC championship streaks snapped last weekend, with both teams finishing second to SUNY Cortland. The men's team was outscored 163-101, and the women's team came up a mere point and a half shy of Cortland.
The men's team had strong performers in several events, but they were just unable to overcome Cortland's athletes. In the men's mile, senior Ross Hunkovic finished second with a time of 4:19.55 and senior Jim Tillapaugh finished fourth at 4:24.76. Senior Paul Mesi snagged third place in the 800 meter with a time of 1:58.72 and sophomore Ryan Mulcahy finished the 3000 meter at 9:02.09 to claim fifth place. Mulcahy and senior Mike McGrath finished fourth and fifth in the 5000 meter with times of 15:21.03 and 15:22.28, respectively.
Seniors Joe Goodspeed and Erik Weiber placed first and second, respectively, in the high jump, with Goodspeed jumping 2.09 meters and Weiber jumping 1.93 meters. Goodspeed also placed second in the long jump at 6.78 meters and third in the triple jump with 13.42 meters. Junior Wes Hamilton placed fourth in the long jump with 6.38 meters, and freshman Ryan Joyce finished fourth in the triple jump with 13.31 meters.
Despite these strong finishes, the sum of the team's performances was not enough to put them in first place, and their two-year championship winning streak was broken. "It is an empty feeling to do well and have the team fail, particularly when the team has been on top before," said Goodspeed. "Cortland showed up and took care of their business."
The women's team, after winning the past four SUNYAC championships, was very competitive last weekend, but a good Cortland team managed to squeak past them and claim first place. "It's always hard to lose, especially when we've worked so hard; whether it's a point or 10 points doesn't change that," said sophomore Laura Iafrati.
Juniors Meghan Nolan and Taryn Hand and freshman Erin Marks placed second, third and fourth in the women's mile, with times of 5:04.54, 5:19.07 and 5:20.96, respectively. Freshman Carly Kramer placed second in the 800 meter at 2:18.64, Nolan finished third at 2:22.47, and sophomore Meg Anderson placed fifth at 2:27.54. Sophomore Liz Montgomery won the 5000 meter at 18:07.88, followed closely by Iafrati and junior Karen Merrill in third and fourth with times of 18:29.16 and 18:55.91, respectively. Geneseo's distance medley team, which consisted of Nolan, Kramer, Marks and junior Emily Hurley, placed first in their event at 12:50.96 and sophomore Julie Thering placed second in the shot put with a distance of 11.44 meters.
Nevertheless, the women's team came up short, with Cortland outscoring them 129.5-128. "We worked so hard and really came together at the meet," said Merrill. "I know in outdoor we will come back and show Cortland who the better team really is."