WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD ATHLETES PREPARE FOR CHAMPIONSHIP MEET
The United East Conference Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championship Meet will take place this weekend with the AMCC sending four member schools to participate as affiliates. Alfred State College, Carlow University, Hilbert College and Penn State Behrend will all compete on the campus of Penn State Behrend for the 2024 champioship meet.
The Pioneers rely on a mixture of youth as well as experience at the conference championship this year. Freshman Oli Kraynik looks to defend her indoor 400m title, and fifth-year seniors Sarah Rivet and Lily Schnell are in position for podium finishes as well. Rivet changed her focus to the 100m and 200m this year, after being a 2x 400m hurdle champion, while Schnell has been racing the 400m, currently ranked sixth in the Conference. Seniors Izzy Popoff and Laura Walter are looking to finish strong the championship year as well. Popoff, the reigning indoor mile champion, is the top ranked 1500m runner and third in the 800m – with junior Hailey Kumpf right behind her. Walter is a top-five pole vaulter and joins Rivet, Kraynik, and junior Madison Snayczuk on the 4x100m relay. Snayczuk is currently ranked second in the triple jump and third in the long jump. Also in the field, junior Kenzi Gillett sits in the top hammer throw position going into this weekend. Rivet, Popoff, Schnell, and Kraynik team up to have the top seeded 4x400m relay going into championships as well.
The Carlow University women’s track & field team is coming off a second-place finish at the USCAA National Championship April 27. The Celtics are led by senior Molly Wagner, a three-time AMCC Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season and USCAA national champion in the 100, 200 and as a member of the 4x100 relay team. She broke the meet record in the 200 with a time of 26.16, besting the previous record (26.44) set by Loren Winters from Mississippi University for Women in 2022. The sprinter from Pittsburgh, PA is ranked third and fourth respectively in the 100 and 200 in the United East/AMCC, and the 4x100 relay team of Trista Miller, Sydney Taylor, Ella Cloak and Wagner is ranked fifth. Miller took second place behind Wagner in the 100 and 200, and Taylor broke the meet record in triple jump with a personal best distance of 10.63 meters to place first in the event. Madeeah Oranchak of SUNY Delhi set the previous meet record of 10.53 meters in 2017. Taylor, a two-time AMCC Athlete of the Week, also snagged a personal best with a second-place leap of 4.67 meters in long jump. Several Celtics are ranked in the top-10 in the United East/AMCC in their respective events heading into the weekend.
The Hilbert women’s track and field team is small in participant count, but they make up for their numbers in effort. Talhia Kosek is the jack of all trades competing in multiple field events while Maddie Fusco is expected to lead the pack around the track in the middle distances and Alex Liszkiewicz should challenge for a spot in the finals of the sprints.
The Behrend women’s outdoor track & field team has competed in six meets prior to the United East Outdoor Championships. Madison Kappeler kicked off the outdoor season with an AARTFC qualifying clearnace of 11-3 for fourth place in the pole vault at the Carnegie Mellon Invite, while Julia Balaski was the runner-up in the javelin throw in her first meet of the season, finishing with an AARTFC mark of 122-8. At the John Papa Invitational, Kappeler tied for first in the pole vault with a personal best 11-9 3/4. This height moved her into second in the Behrend record books, behind Haley Yenchik's 12-2 ¾ set during the 2018 season. During this meet, Lindsey Hartle notched a 5000m personal record time of 19:21.60 for third place, while Haley Felton set a new personal record in the 100m hurdles with a time of 16.99 for seventh place. This past weekend at Saint Francis, six Lions set personal bests. Freshman Bridget McMaster won her 3000m steeplechase debut, running a time of 13:03.65.