The Geneseo men’s and women’s indoor track teams competed at the Ithaca Bomber Invitational & Multi held at Ithaca College on Sunday Feb. 1. The Knights competed against Division I talent and held their own with several athletes posting personal records. Junior heptathlete Aidan Fullerton now looks to be in a good position going forward for nationals and junior sprinter Michael Segelin posted a personal best time in the 200-meter dash. For athletes like Fullerton, getting good marks and times this early in the season is a blessing––it allows for more breathing room heading into the meat of the season. Fullerton now has time to sort out his competition and to improve on his already good marks. His point total is good enough for 12th in the nation and because a good portion of athletes have yet to run, that sets him up for bigger point totals as the season progresses.
“He almost certainly has a good chance of getting into nationals now,” head coach Chris Popovici said.
Another athlete whose performance this past weekend put her in the national spotlight is sophomore Joanna Heath. “[Heath] has reached a point in the season where she’s realized that she’s faster and stronger than her competition, and she’s just trying to figure out what that means for her,” Popovici said. If the season were to end today, Heath would make nationals in the high jump and she hasn’t hit her ceiling.
“She’s not even close to her best jump yet,” Popovici said. Going forward, Heath can only improve upon her already impressive marks in both the high jump and the long jump.
Both Fullerton and Heath have put up great numbers from the beginning of the season. Their teammates have been consistently putting up numbers that place them in the national conversation for their respective events as well. Segelin is a top national runner for the 200-meter dash and there are a number of distance runners who also ran on the Geneseo cross-country teams that also have a good chance of getting into nationals, including sophomore Alfredo Mazzuca, freshman Isaac Garcia-Cassani, senior Keira Wood and senior Alyssa Knott.
With so much talent on both the men’s and the women’s teams, the Knights showed that they can compete at the highest level. Their individual athletes were able to hold their own against many D1 athletes, a good sign for the future of the team—both from a team perspective and an individual one.
If the Knights can put up a good show against that kind of competition, athletes at the Division III National Championships should prove no match for the Knights.