Geoff Schneider

Oliver Sets Hammer Throw Record, Merrill Posts Top Five Finish At Dave Labor Invitational

4/7/2024 10:32:00 AM

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

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Daemen University women's track and field team continued its 2023-24 outdoor season by taking part in the Dave Labor Invitational held yesterday on the campus of Slippery Rock University. The event featured 32 colleges and 1,099 athletes.

A school-record effort by freshman Kristen Oliver (Massena, N.Y.) in the hammer throw highlighted the day for the Wildcats. Graduate student Courtney Merrill (Speedway, Ind.) also posted a fifth-place finish in the 5,000 meters, while junior Emma Cain (Lockport, N.Y.) and Patsy Oberholzer (Greece, N.Y.) both posted a top-five effort in the 10,000 meters.

HIGHLIGHTS

Oliver, who did not compete in the season-opening meet at SUNY Geneseo last week, posted a record-breaking effort in the hammer throw in her first career outdoor meet. She placed sixth out of 41 throwers with a toss of 43.93 meters, eclipsing the previous record of 43.25 meters set by graduate student Tima Abdellatif (Grand Island, N.Y.) last week. Her effort ranks as the fifth best effort in the East Region this season. Oliver also took part in the discus and shot put. She placed second among Daemen entrants and 41^st overall in the discus (25.88 meters) and first among Daemen throwers and 24^th in the shot put (10.10 meters).
Abdellatif competed in the hammer throw and the javelin. She placed second among Daemen throwers in the hammer and 11^th overall with a toss of 40.93 meters, which ranks as the fourth best throw in program history. The reigning East Coast Conference champion in the hammer throw, she now owns three of the top four throws in program history.
Merrill placed fifth out of 33 in the 5,000 meters with a time of 18:43.10. It ranks as her second fastest time in the event for her career, behind her career-best effort of 18:32.96 at the 2022 University at Buffalo Invitational. She also ran the 1,500 meters and placed 24^th out of 79 with a time of 5:09.81.
Cain ran the 10,000 meters for the third time in her career and placed second out of seven runners with a personal best time of 39:57.56, eclipsing her previous best time of 40:15.19 she posted at the 2022 ECC Outdoor Championships. It also ranks as the ninth fastest time for the 10,000 meters in program history.
Oberholzer ran the 10,000 meters for the second time in her career and placed fourth with a time of 40:37.93.
Sophomore hurdler Alexis Rodriguez (Williamson, N.Y.) competed in the 100- and 400-meter hurdles and posted a Top-15 finish in both events. She placed 15th out of 31 in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.56 seconds, narrowly missing her personal best time of 16.54 she set at the Geneseo Early Season Invite last week. She placed 12^th out of 24 in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:10.65.
Graduate student Hannah Thomas (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) competed in the 800 and 1,500 meters and was the top Daemen finisher in both events. She placed 21^st out of 68 in the 800 with a time of 2:28.83 and finished 14^th out of 79 in the 1,500 with a time of 5:00.79.
Senior Camryn Bailey (Geneva, N.Y.) returned to action after missing last weekend's season opener at Geneseo. She ran the 1,500 meters and placed 21^st with a time of 5:06.90.
Sophomore Christa Oates (Tonawanda, N.Y.) ran the 800 meters and placed 25^th out of 68 with a personal best time of 2:33.82. Classmate Hayley Pizur (Grand Island, N.Y.) also posted a personal best time in the 5,000 meters (21:55.66).
Sophomore Becca Schultz (Grand Island, N.Y.) took part in four events and posted a Top-20 finish in two. She placed 15^th out of 48 in the 100-meter dash (12.98 seconds) and placed 20^th in the triple jump (10.00 meters).
Junior Alyssa Amirato (Depew, N.Y.) was the top Daemen finisher in the long jump and the triple jump. She placed 34^th out of 60 in the long jump (4.60 meters) and 19^th out of 28 in the triple jump (10.22 meters).
Daemen had four competitors in the shot put, discus, hammer throw and javelin.
Oliver was the top Daemen finisher in the hammer throw and the shot put.
Sophomore Samantha Kabel (Alexander, N.Y.) was the top Daemen finisher in the discus for the second-straight meet, as she placed 22^nd out of 53 with a toss of 30.46 meters.
Junior Elizabeth Bentley (Belmont, N.Y.) was the top Daemen finisher in the javelin. She placed 36^th out of 50 with a throw of 24.34 meters. Bentley also placed 18^th in the hammer throw with a toss of 38.88 meters, which ranks as the eighth best in program history.

UP NEXT
Daemen returns to action next Saturday (April 13) when it heads to Brockport, N.Y. to take part in the SUNY Brockport Outdoor Multi.

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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