Syracuse University
Cortland Classic
Syracuse Schools Local Competition
4/19/2009 5:01:38 PM | Track and Field
CORTLAND, N.Y. – As one part of the track & field team crossed over into the Garden State for competition, the other portion stayed in Central New York and chalked up 11 top three finishes at the Cortland Classic on Friday and Saturday.
The Orange shined in the multis segment of the meet as Syracuse recorded first-place point totals in both the heptathlon and decathlon. Freshman Priscilla Ilarraza won six of seven events for the heptathlon title while sophomore Nick Damato recorded four top finishes for the decathlon crown. Classmate Evan Stivala won two events en route to a second place showing.
Illarraza's winning marks came in the 100-meter hurdles (16.05), high jump (1.66m), shot put (8.41m), 200-meter dash (27.48), long jump (4.71m) and the javelin throw (25.10m). She took second in the 800-meter run in 2:44.50 to solidify her winning point total of 4,000 points.
Damato brought home first-place performances in the 100-meter dash (11.62), 400-meter dash (51.22), discus throw (35.69m) and the javelin throw (53.49m) on the way to his championship point total of 6,035. Stivala's second-place score of 5,958 was aided by his top marks in the shot put (10.98m) and high jump (1.86m).
Sophomore Kwaku Boah tallied one of five Orange first-place performances with a BIG EAST-qualifying lob of 15.29m in the shot put. Boah also wrapped up the hammer and discus throws in third and fourth place, respectively, with a heaves of 51.36m and 38.47m. Boah's third-place mark in the hammer throw made him eligible for the BIG EAST Championship.
Junior Lisa Giacometti locked up first place in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:52.26 whereas sophomore Alison Levchak picked up Syracuse's fifth and final first place merit in the long jump with a vault of 5.20m. Levchak garnered second place in the triple jump with a combination of 10.66m and turned out a 14th place finish in the 100-meter dash in 13.90.
Sophomores Samantha Haughton and Treeva Royes secured third and seventh place, correspondingly, with clips of 27.20 and 28.24 in the women's 200-meter dash. Haughton's 1:01.25 mark yielded another third-place performance in the 400-meter dash while Royes capped the 400-meter dash in 1:05.46 for 14th.
In the 800-meter run, juniors Deanna Schmitt and Olivia Beane, freshman Meghan Donohue and senior Genna Pfeiffer claimed respective showings of sixth (2:21.26), eighth (2:22.27), 11th (2:24.72) and 22nd (2:34.00).
Freshman Natalee Fisher turned in an 11th-place effort in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:57.71 while sophomore Tricia Wardwell took 10th in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 12:15.66.
In the women's field, a three-way tie for fourth place occurred in the pole vault as sophomores Danielle Sherwood and Leah Testa and freshman Paris McLean all hit the 3.11m mark.
Freshman Meryl Engler concluded the shot put in third place with a lob of 10.87m while her toss of 31.56m in the discus throw was good enough for 10th. Engler also finished in 14th place with a pitch of 32.99m in the hammer throw.
On the men's side, sophomore David Dubin posted 13th place times in both the 200 and 400-meter dash in 23.25 and 51.17, respectively. Freshman Ryan Ellis' time of 2:05.45 was good enough for 35th in the 800-meter run while junior Robbie Cary broke the tape in 4:04.67 for 11th place in the 1,500-meter run. Four others tested their endurance in the 1,500-meter as junior Matt Martina, freshman Jeff Sweeney, sophomore Patrick Murray and first-year runner Ricky Balmaseda concluded the race in consequential times of 4:10.62 (24th), 4;11.35 (26th), 4:14.34 (31st) and 4:27.04 (44th).
In the distance competition, freshman Brady Becker was one of nine harriers to break the meet record of 15:19.07 set in 2007. Becker's clip of 15:06.33 was good enough for fourth while classmate Nick Roertgen took down 21st with a total of 16:06.12.
Syracuse will travel to Philadelphia, Pa. for the renowned Penn Relays from April 23-25 at the University of Pennsylvania. Next weekend's festivities marks the 115th occasion of the Penn Relays. On Sunday, April 26, Syracuse will take part in the Cornell Big Red Invitational in Ithaca, N.Y.
