Track runs into tough opponents at NYSCTC

The Geneseo indoor track teams traveled to St. Lawrence last weekend to compete in the New York State Collegiate Track Conference Championships, with the women placing 12th and the men placing 10th out of 15 teams.

The women were boosted by the addition of three-time All-American senior high jumper Amanda Haney, whose basketball season concluded last Tuesday at Oneonta. Haney won the high jump with an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC)-qualifying mark of 1.63 meters, her 10 points accounting for almost one-third of Geneseo's team score on the weekend. Junior Allison Lewis also fared well in the high jump, placing third with an ECAC-qualifying jump of 1.58 meters to contribute another 5.5 points to the team score.

Graduate student Christy Finke earned the Knights another six points by racing to a third-place finish in the 800 meters, finishing in a scorching 2:19.59.

Geneseo also received a strong performance from their 4x400 relay team, which finished fifth with a time of 4:10.30. The speedy quartet is comprised of senior Diana Snyder, freshman Naomie Francois, and sophomores Brittany Frankel and Kristin Shumway.

Shumway and Snyder placed in other events as well, as Snyder placed eighth in the 400 meters with a time of 61.26, and Shumway earned fifth in the 500, crossing the finish line at 1:20.84. Freshman thrower Brittany Talani claimed sixth place in the shot put (11.15 m) to bring the Knights' final tally to 33.5 points.

Senior Wes Hamilton highlighted the men's performances, as he won the triple jump with a long of 13.95 meters, handily qualifying for the ECACs.

Freshmen played a major role on the men's side, as five rookies scored. Sean Brummert sped to third-place in the 500 meters with a time of 66.86, and Tom Reubens' time of 15:13.11 netted him fourth-place in the 5,000 meters. John Gammariello was eighth in the 800 meters (1:58.71), and teamed with Reubens, Brummert and freshman Steve Fitch to earn a fourth-place finish in the 4x800 relays.

Sophomore Andrew Sorrento hurled the weight 16.20 meters to secure a third-place finish, contributing six points to the team total in the process. Geneseo ended the weekend with 36 points, good for 10th place out of the 15 schools represented.

The Knights travel to Harvard on Friday for the ECAC Championships.

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