This past weekend the Geneseo track and field teams traveled to SUNY Cortland for the Kane Invitational. While the track meet saw no team results, Geneseo returned with a few individual event winners, but overall used the Kane Invitational meet as a warm-up for the upcoming SUNYAC Championships.
On the women's side, two athletes took home medals. Sophomore Kristin Shumway placed first in the women's 500-meter relay with a time of 1:22.54, edging out her competitors for second and third by just 0.3 seconds.
"She is definitely a difference maker on this squad," coach Dave Prevosti said of Shumway. "Her versatility to compete in a 500-meter sprint, and then also be able to come back and score on the high jump is a unique strength for this team."
In the women's field events, Geneseo junior Julie Thering had an impressive showing in the weight throw. Her throw of 16.02 meters was good for second in the competition. Her performance was a pleasant surprise to Prevosti, as Thering's throw was the second best for a Geneseo athlete in the team's history.
Adding another strong showing was senior Diana Snyder, who had an impressive meet and improved her qualifying times for the upcoming competitions.
In the men's competition, the Knights also had two medalists. Freshman Nicholas Brown placed second in the 600-meter dash, coming up short of a first-place finish by just 0.7 seconds. However, Brown still managed to set a new Geneseo record in the event.
In the 60-meter hurdles, another Geneseo freshman had a strong performance: Dustin Rabideau placed third with a time of 8.62 seconds, the only Geneseo student among the other top five finishers, with the other four spots taken by Cornell runners.
Prevosti was pleased with his team's performance, as he used the meet as a "measuring stick" to see how his squad matched up with the rest of the SUNYAC's finest track stars. Results from this meet will be used by the coaching staff to give the Knights the best shot at winning the SUNYAC Championships.
The SUNYAC Championships will be held this Saturday, Feb. 23 at Hobart and William Smith Colleges at 9 a.m.