Geoff M Schneider

Thomas And Schultz Post First Place Efforts At Highlander Invitational

Thomas Places First For The Fourth Time This Season

1/20/2024 5:31:00 PM

By: CONTACT: Tom McDermott, Director of Athletics Communications | tmcdermo@daemen.edu

HOUGHTON, N.Y. - The Daemen University women's track and field team took part in the Highlander Invitational held this afternoon at the Kerr-Pegula Field House on the campus of Houghton University.

First-place efforts by graduate student Hannah Thomas (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) in the mile and sophomore Becca Schultz (Grand Island, N.Y.) in the 60-meter hurdles highlighted the afternoon for the Wildcats.

HIGHLIGHTS

Thomas competed in both the mile and the 800-meter run today. She placed first out of 24 entrants in the mile with a time of 5:26.43—three seconds ahead of Noelle Linenfelser (5:29.20) of Houghton. It marks the second time this season Thomas has placed first in the mile, as she won the race at the Utica Holiday Classic with a personal best time of 5:21.48. Thomas came just two seconds shy of winning the 800 meters today, as she placed second out of 29 runners with a time of 2:26.41. Thomas has now placed first in four of the five races she has competed in so far this season.
Schultz took part in three events today. She qualified for the finals in the 60-meter dash after placing seventh out of 18 entrants in the qualifying round with a time of 8.27 seconds. She would place eighth in the finals with a time of 8.40 seconds. Schultz then placed first out of 11 entrants in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.55 seconds, coming just shy of her personal best time of 9.50 she set at the Utica Holiday Classic last month. She once again narrowly missed the school record of 9.47 seconds set by Sam Carro at the 2018 Highlander Invitational. Schultz also placed ninth out of 15 in the long jump with a leap of 4.47 meters.
Thomas was one of three Daemen runners in the mile and all three finished in the top-10. Senior Camryn Bailey (Geneva, N.Y.) placed third with a time of 5:30.16 and graduate student Courtney Merrill (Speedway, Ind.) placed seventh (5:40.04).
Bailey and Merrill were two of four Daemen runners in the 3,000 meters. Bailey placed second out of 18 runners with a time of 11:00.20. Junior Emma Cain (Lockport, N.Y.) placed fifth (11:19.54), Merrill placed seventh (11:46.51) and sophomore Hayley Pizur (Grand Island, N.Y.) placed 14^th (13:00.02).
Sophomore Alexis Rodriguez (Williamson, N.Y.) took part in the 60-meter hurdles and the 200 meters. She placed fifth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 10.34 seconds. In the 200 meters she placed first among five Daemen sprinters and 10^th out of 27 overall with a personal-best time of 28.44 seconds, eclipsing her previous best time of 29.39 she set at the Brockport Multi last year.
Senior Emma Grzebinski (West Seneca, N.Y.) made her season debut today and placed sixth in the 800 meters with a time of 2:34.22.
Freshmen Abbie Herman (Hamburg, N.Y.) and D'Naesha Quicksey (Buffalo, N,.Y.) both made their collegiate debuts today. Herman took part in the 60-meter dash, the 60-meter hurdles and the 200 meters. Quicksey took part in the 60-meter dash and the triple jump.
Junior Alyssa Amirato (Depew, N.Y.) took part in the long jump and the triple jump. She placed fifth out of 15 in the long jump (4.79 meters) and third in the triple jump (10.31 meters).
Daemen had six competitors in the weight throw and five in the shot put.
Freshman Kristen Oliver (Massena, N.Y.) was the top Daemen finisher in both throwing events. She placed fourth out of 20 in the weight throw with a personal best toss of 13.49 meters, narrowly missing the program record of 13.73 meters set by Skye Dorcely at the 2022 East Coast Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships. Oliver placed fifth out of 26 in the shot put with a toss of 9.57 meters.
Graduate student Tima Abdellatif (Grand Island, N.Y.) placed second among Daemen throwers and seventh overall in the weight throw (12.62 meters), while freshman Julia Petry (Batavia, N.Y.) placed second among Daemen throwers and sixth overall in the shot put (9.44 meters). Junior Elizabeth Bentley (Belmont, N.Y.) placed third among Daemen throwers in both the weight throw (12.33 meters) and the shot put (8.65 meters).
Daemen's 4x400 relay team of Rodriguez, sophomore Grace Gominiak (Darien Center, N.Y.), sophomore Christa Oates (Tonawanda, N.Y.) and sophomore Alexis Nguyen (Grand Island, N.Y.) placed third out of four teams with a time of 4:39.11.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats are back in action next weekend (Jan. 28) when they travel to Geneva, Ohio to take part in the SPIRE Collegiate 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.

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

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