Geneseo track and field’s season is beginning to pick up, with just one meet left before conference championships and the team goes to regionals and nationals. The team has experienced success so far, with the Geneseo boys ranked 19th and girls ranked 7th in the nation for Division III track and field, according to US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Last year, the Geneseo track and field team won all six SUNYAC titles for men’s and women’s cross country, winter track and field and spring track and field. They hope to do the same this year.
“We have our conference meet in a week and a half and right now, both teams are positioned to win,” head coach Chris Popovici said. “Then on the national level we have a number of people that are already qualified to make the national meet and are seeded to do very well. So as a whole, it seems like the entire group has done it exceptionally.”
The team is trained in such a way that athletes “peak” for conference championships, so that they will ultimately run their best times of the season there, and times will drastically improve throughout the season.
“Popovici has our training set up in such a way that we peak when we need to, which is right at SUNYACs,” senior captain Kevin Palmisano said. “So, the beginning of the season is usually rough because everyone’s pretty beat up and sore, but as the season progresses, the marks get better and better, and I think we’re in a prime position to do our best at SUNYACs.”
The team’s performance at the Boston University Valentine Invite this past weekend showed large improvements from performances at the beginning of the season. The team’s strong showing now has them ranked at the top of their conference for both men and women, according to junior sprinter Tom SanGiacomo.
The team’s success this past weekend also had a major impact on their national rankings. The men’s team moved up 41 spots and the women’s moved up two spots, according to USTFCCCA.
“I think Boston was our best weekend to date,” assistant coach Matthew Jorgensen said. “The training is really starting to come together now. A lot of people put down a lot of great performances. We saw everybody out there competing hard and finishing races hard. We were very pleased with the results.”
A strong first-year class has helped the team, with some freshmen, such as mid-distance runner Keiran Sheridan, running the fastest times in their event on the team. Upperclassmen have also had big personal bests this season which has helped the team out a lot.
“The team’s doing great … some of the freshmen have really come out of their shell and have done really well,” Jorgensen said. “Even some of the upperclassmen who haven’t traditionally really shown really crazy stuff have been dropping some cool [times].”
The women’s track and field team especially stand out as they have continued to dominate their conference as they have in the past. They are expected to win their conference meet by a massive amount and set a record by breaking 300 points, according to Palmisano.
Many of the female athletes are ranked nationality, with one of their pentathletes, sophomore Emily Lavarnway, being ranked third in DIII nationally, according to Zarcone.
“In the [conference] we’re projected to dominate and win by a lot,” sophomore pentathlete Kristen Zarcone said. “So, it’s really exciting to be around that all the time with so many amazing athletes.”