On Saturday, Dec. 1, Geneseo's indoor track teams began their 2007-08 season by traveling to Cornell for the Cornell Relays, where over 700 athletes competed.
Both teams ran without their teammates who had competed in the 2007 NCAA Cross Country Championship meet just a few weeks ago.
"It was a good start for us even though this was an atypical meet for us," said Head Coach Dave Prevosti. "We competed against a lot of bigger schools than in a normal Division III meet."
In this non-scoring meet, the men's performance featured several outstanding efforts, including a few school records. Sophomore Pat Gallagher, who was unable to run last year due to injury, set the all-time record for men's indoor track at Geneseo in the 300-meter dash with a time of 36.35. In addition, junior Craig Herlacher set a top-10 record in the same race with a time of 37.06.
Several runners placed high in the actual meet, including freshman runner Bill Juda, who took third place in the 5,000 meter with a time of 15:52.47.
Other top performers for Geneseo included sophomore Josh Kneer who finished in sixth place in the 3,000 meter with a time of 9:04.70, freshman Dustin Rabideau who was eighth in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.82 seconds, and senior Wes Hamilton who placed ninth in the long jump with a distance of 6.70 meters.
On the women's side, the Knights wrapped up three of the top four spots in the 5,000-meter race as junior Lisa Bonanni finished in 19:27.75, sophomore Julie Feola crossed the line in 19:30.27, and fellow sophomore Becky Huben finished in 19:36.04 for second through fourth place respectively.
Senior Christy Finke turned in a strong performance in the 3,000-meter race, finishing in fourth place.
The distance medley team, a consistent strong point for Geneseo's track squads, placed fourth overall behind host Cornell's A and B teams and Toronto University.
Junior Julie Thering placed fourth in the weight throw with a toss of 14.45 meters, which was a strong showing in an event in which Geneseo has traditionally struggled. Also, freshman Naomie Francois set several school records as she finished with a time of 8.35 in the 60-meter dash and in 44.27 for the 300-meter race.
Up next for the indoor squads is the Syracuse Open at Syracuse University on Dec. 12, followed by the RIT Open on Jan. 19 at RIT.