The Geneseo men’s and women’s indoor track teams started their seasons strong at the Cornell Relays on Dec. 1.
In this nonscoring meet, the squads combined to post 13 top-10 showings against opponents that included Division I competitors, such as Syracuse University and host Cornell University.
On the women’s side, the distance medley team – consisting of senior Cailin Kowalewski, graduate student Alyssa Smith, sophomore Keira Wood and freshman Kylie Ryan – highlighted the performances. Head coach Dave Prevosti said that he knew his team would dominate.
“I think we’ll be 30 seconds better when it counts,” he said. “We’re that good.”
If his prediction holds true, this group could break the school record set by the 2011 team, of which Smith was a part.
Wood also impressed in the 500-meter run, finishing in seventh place and qualifying for the ECAC meet. Both Smith and Kowalewski ran well enough – fifth and sixth place, respectively – in the 3,000-meter run to qualify for the ECAC meet as well.
Behind them were a string of Geneseo runners, including freshman Shannon Murphy in eighth place, junior Lauren McKnight in 13th, freshman Ashton Hughes in 14th and freshman Stephanie Newman in 32nd.
In the 5,000-meter run, senior Danae Polsin earned fifth place. Following Polsin, junior Rebekah Steinke finished in sixth place, senior Erin Dorset in ninth, sophomore Laura Szczesniak in 10th, freshman Ellie Trelstad in 16th and sophomore Jolie Siegal in 20th.
The men’s team also fared well against the opposition. Most notable was junior Patrick Wortner’s seventh-place finish, right ahead of his brother Brendan, a freshman, in the 5,000-meter run.
“Their upside is amazing,” Prevosti said.
Concerning the older Wortner, Prevosti said, “He’s found that extra gear – it’s just a matter of time before he puts it all together.”
In the same race, sophomore Chaz Abad finished ninth, sophomore Kevin O’Connor finished 17th and senior Robert Harmon finished 18th.
The 3,200-meter relay team, consisting of Abad, senior Alex Brimstein, sophomore Christian Igielinski and freshman Chase Nackerson finished in sixth place and qualified for the ECAC meet. In addition, Brimstein, who finished 10th at cross-country nationals, led for a good portion of the 5,000-meter run, according to Prevosti, but had to drop out of the race.
The Knights’ next meet is Thursday Dec. 6 at the Rochester Institute of Technology.