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Geoff Schneider

Schultz and Thomas Lead Wildcats To Third Place Showing At Utica Holiday Classic

Schultz Set The Program Record For The Long Jump; Thomas Wins The Mile And The 3,000

12/9/2023 7:25:00 PM

By: CONTACT: Tom McDermott, Director of Athletics Communications | tmcdermo@daemen.edu
UTICA, N.Y. - The Daemen University women's track and field team took part in the Utica Holiday Classic held this afternoon at the Todd and Jen Hutton Sports and Recreation Center on the campus of Utica University. The Wildcats placed third out of 13 teams.

A school-record effort in the long jump by sophomore Becca Schultz (Grand Island, N.Y.) and first-place finishes by graduate student Hannah Thomas (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) in the mile and the 3,000-meter run highlighted the afternoon for the Wildcats.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Schultz took part in four individual events and the 4x200 relay. She posted a school-record leap of 5.10 meters and placed fourth out of 25 entrants in the long jump, eclipsing the previous mark of 5.02 meters set by teammate Alyssa Amirato (Depew, N.Y.) at the Youngstown State University Mid-Major Invitational last year.
  • Schultz qualified for the finals in the 60-meter dash after placing fifth out of 38 entrants in the qualifying round with a time of 8.20 seconds, just missing her personal best time of 8.16 she set last week at the Houghton December Classic. She would place seventh in the finals with a time of 8.28 seconds. Schultz also qualified for the finals in the 60-meter hurdles after placing second out of 17 entrants in the qualifying round with a time of 9.61 seconds. She would go on to place second out of eight in the finals with a personal best time of 9.50, narrowly missing the school record of 9.47 seconds set by Sam Carro at the 2018 Highlander Invitational. Schultz also placed 10th out of 18 in the triple jump with a leap of 9.89 meters.
  • Thomas has placed first in all three races she has competed in so far this season. She finished first out of 19 runners in the mile with a personal best time of 5:21.48 and capped her day by placing first out of 10 runners in the 3,000 with a personal best time of 10:48.70.
  • Thomas was one of three Daemen runners in the mile and all three finished in the top-10. Graduate student Courtney Merrill (Speedway, Ind.) placed sixth (5:38.05) and junior Emma Cain (Lockport, N.Y.) placed eighth (5:41.91). Cain and Merrill also ran the 3,000 meters. Cain placed fourth (11:31.27) and Merrill finished fifth (11:33.00).
  • Sophomore Alexis Rodriguez (Williamson, N.Y.) took part in the 60-meter hurdles and the 300 meters. She qualified for the finals in the 60-meter hurdles after placing fourth in the qualifying round with a time of 10.31 seconds. She would place eighth in the finals (11.44). She was the lone Daemen runner in the 300 meters and placed fourth out of 13 entrants with a time of 45.25 seconds.
  • Sophomore Christa Oates (Tonawanda, N.Y.), a transfer from Medaille University, ran the 600 meters and placed fifth with a time of 1:55.81. Classmate Alexis Nguyen (Grand Island, N.Y.) ran the 400 meters and placed 10th (1:09.52).
  • Amirato took part in the long jump and the triple jump. She tied her personal best (and previous school record) in the long jump with a leap of 5.02 meters, which placed her fifth out of 25. She finished third in the triple jump with a leap of 10.79 meters, narrowly missing her school record of 10.84 meters she set at the East Coast Conference Championships last winter.
  • Daemen had six competitors in both shot put and the weight throw.
  • Freshman Kristen Oliver (Massena, N.Y.) was the top Daemen finished in both throwing events. She placed 12thout of 46 in the weight throw with a personal best toss of 12.77 meters and placed 13th out of 47 in the shot put (10.03 meters).
  • Graduate student Tima Abdellatif (Grand Island, N.Y.) placed second among Daemen throwers and 13th overall in the weight throw (12.66 meters), while junior Elizabeth Bentley (Belmont, N.Y.) placed second among Daemen throwers and 24th overall in the shot put (9.24 meters). Bentley also placed third among Daemen throwers and 15th overall in the weight throw (12.61 meters).
  • Daemen's 4x200 relay team of Schultz, Rodriguez, sophomore Grace Gominiak (Darien Center, N.Y.) and freshman Elizabeth Vanalstine (Mount Morris, N.Y.) placed 11th out of 12 teams with a time of 2:02.85.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats are idle until January 20 when they head to Houghton University to take part in the Highlander Invitational.
 

Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 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.

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