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Freshman Marcy Colca placed first in the 5,000 meters.

Women’s Track Finishes Second at UB Invitational

Nolet and Merrill Set School Records, Colca Places First In The 5,000

4/23/2022 8:03:00 PM

By: By Tom McDermott

UB INVITATIONAL — FULL RESULTS


AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen University women's track and field team placed second out of seven teams at the University at Buffalo Invitational today. The event took place on the UB campus.

The host UB Bulls posted 272 points to claim the team title, while Daemen (141) finished ahead of Niagara University (73), Canisius College (62), SUNY Fredonia (53), Bryant & Stratton (24) and St. Bonaventure University (7).

School record efforts by graduate student Kassandra Nolet (Fort Erie, Ont.) in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and junior Courtney Merrill (Speedway, Ind.) in the 1,500 meters, and a first-place showing by freshman Marcy Colca (Getzville, N.Y.) in the 5,000 meters highlighted the day for the Wildcats. Daemen had a strong overall showing in the 5,000 meter run, as five Daemen runners placed among the top-10 finishers. Senior Hannah Thomas (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) also enjoyed a solid day, as she finished third in the 800 meters.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Merrill posted two top-five finishes today, as she placed fourth out of 33 runners in the 1,500 meters and also finished third out of 15 runners in the 5,000 meters. Her time of 4:46.78 in the 1,500 meters set a new outdoor school record for that event—eclipsing the previous standard of 4:48.52 set by Mackenzie Donahue at the 2016 Westminster Invitational. It marked just the third time in Merrill's career that she has run the 1,500 meters. Merrill capped her day by placing third in the 5,000 meters with a personal best time of 18:32.96—eclipsing her previous best time of 18:56.01 that she posted at the Redhawk Capstone Meet last spring.
  • Nolet took part in the 3,000 meter steeplechase for the first time in her career and finished second out of seven entrants with a school record time of 11:27.26—eclipsing the previous standard of 11:38.87 set by Donahue at the 2015 Brockport Invitational.
  • Colca, who placed first and earned first-team All East Coast Conference honors in the 5,000 meters during the indoor season with a time of 17:45.10, ran the event for the first time at an outdoor event and cruised to a first place finish with a time of 17:38.12. She finished nearly a minute ahead of runner-up Riley Jones (18:27.94) of UB and posted the third fastest time in the 5,000 meters at an outdoor event in program history.
  • Thomas placed third out of 26 runners in the 800 meters with a personal best time of 2:22.03—eclipsing her previous best  time of 2:23.52 that she posted at the UB Spring Opener two weeks ago.
  • Daemen had five entrants in the 5,000 meters. All five posted a personal best time and all five placed among the top-10 finishers. Merrill came in just under a minute behind Colca with a time of 18:32.96. Sophomore Camryn Bailey (Geneva, N.Y.) placed fifth (18:52.37), senior Sarah Golas (Alden, N.Y.) placed eighth (19:20.42) and freshman Emma Cain (Lockport, N.Y.) placed 10th (19:28.60).
  • Sophomore Haley Hinds (Blossvale, N.Y.) competed in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and placed fifth out of seven entrants with a personal best time of 12:31.41.
  • Senior Natalie Menz (Lyndonville, N.Y.) took part in the 100 meter hurdles, the 400 meter hurdles, the long jump and the javelin throw. She posted a personal best time in both the 100 and 400 meter hurdles, placing sixth in the 100 (17.72) and eight in the 400 (1:20.22). She placed fifth in the long jump (4.42 meters) and fourth in the javelin (19.79 meters).
  • Sophomore Alyssa Harrington (Tonawanda, N.Y.) took part in the 100 meter dash, the long jump and the triple jump. She placed 10th in the 100 meters with a personal best time (13:43). She finished fourth in the long jump with a personal best leap of 4.74 meters and sixth in the triple jump (10.39 meters). Her effort in the triple jump was a personal best for her at an outdoor event and ranks as the sixth best in program history at an outdoor event.
  • Freshman Alyssa Amirato (Depew, N.Y.) took part in the long jump and the triple jump at an outdoor event for the first time in her collegiate career. She placed first among four Daemen entrants and third overall in the long jump with a leap of 4.75 meters. She would also place first among three Daemen entrants and fifth overall in the triple jump with a personal best leap of 10.69 meters. That effort ranks as the third best effort in the triple jump at an outdoor event in program history—just behind the program record of 10.78 meters set by Katja Meyer at the 2019 Dave Labor Invitational.
  • Sophomore Paige Pavelski (East Aurora, N.Y.) was the top Daemen finisher and placed fifth overall in the shot put (10.42 meters). Freshman Elizabeth Bentley (Belmont, N.Y.) was the top Daemen finisher in both the discus and the javelin. She placed seventh overall in the discus with a personal best toss of 28.20 meters. She competed in the javelin for the first time in her collegiate career and placed third overall with a throw of 20.54 meters. Graduate student Betty Jones (Camillus, N.Y.) was the top Daemen finisher in the hammer throw (36.35 meters).

UP NEXT
The Wildcats head to Rochester next Saturday (April 30) to take part in the University of Rochester Alumni Invitational.


Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 18 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.

Follow the Daemen University women's track & field program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @DaemenXCTF.
 

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