On Friday Feb. 17, the men's and women's indoor track and field teams traveled to nearby Rochester Institute of Technology for the Tiger Invitational.
The final meet before the SUNYAC championship tournament, the Knights looked to qualify team members to have flexibility at the culminating meet, refine their craft by running shorter or longer distances, or to just qualify to earn a spot in the top 16 competitors in the conference, according to head coach Dave Prevosti.
"It was looked at as a last chance meet," Prevosti said. "It's really about positioning ourselves."
Junior Chris Moore stood out in the results with a first place finish in the 5,000-meter run.
"[15 minutes, 31.71 seconds is] a heck of a time given that's not the best track with really sharp turns," Prevosti commended.
Senior Greg Izzo placed third in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.87 seconds.
"[Izzo's] been pretty solid all year. We expect some good things," Prevosti said.
On the women's side, sophomore Mary Aldridge led the pack in the mile with a first place run in 5:16.21 – an ECAC-qualifying time.
"She's awesome," Prevosti stated. "She had a really good freshman year. She stood out and this year she's been a little bit more quiet, but she's reasserting herself at the right time."
Juniors Diahann Cuevo and Brigid Heenan, freshman Cassie Goodman and sophomores Rebekah Steinke and Celeste Hoelzl followed Aldridge, placing second and fourth through seventh, respectively.
Freshman Keira Wood improved in the long jump, claiming a new personal record of 10.34 meters. Wood also earned fifth place in the 400-meter dash behind senior Kelly Brunscheen and sophomore Allison Hoh, who placed third and fourth, respectively.
On Sunday Feb. 26, the Knights travel to Hobart and William Smith Colleges for the SUNYAC Championships.
"I think our guys have a great chance at winning. I think our women will really have to rally to do that because Buffalo State [College], [SUNY] Cortland and even [SUNY] Oneonta are some strong teams," Prevosti said. "The challenge is there and it'll be interesting to see how we do. But one thing's for sure: Everyone's going to do the best they can."