This weekend, the Binghamton University men’s and women’s track teams had a full plate. The teams had athletes participate in a meet at Cornell University and the Larry Ellis Invitational at Princeton University, while fifth-year senior Erik van Ingen ran in the Mount SAC Relays.
At Saturday’s tri-meet at Cornell, Binghamton faced off against host Big Red and a team from Birmingham, England. The men placed first in discus with a throw of 159-7 from sophomore Jason Bensaull and took the top spot in the hammer with senior Colin Anderson’s 168-1 performance. Junior Casey Gilbert took first in the 400m hurdles with a time of 48.36 and led off the 4x400m relay team that took top honors, as well.
Five Binghamton athletes on the men’s team participated in the Larry Ellis Invitational held at Princeton, and three finished with IC4A qualifying times. Fifth-year senior Adam Quinn was 20th in the men’s 3,000 steeplechase with a time of 9:08.79, freshman Jesse Garn placed 21st in the 1,500m race with a time of 3:47.97 and fifth-year senior Andrew Ugolino finished 25th with a time of 9:12.63, all meeting the ECAC/IC4A qualifying standards. In addition, sophomore Chris Fernandez and senior Jesse McCormick placed in the top 50 of the 800m.
Overall, the men’s team continues to have a strong season.
“We have a top-three team [in the America East],” head coach Mike Thompson said. “The team is on schedule to perform well at the conference meet and beyond.”
Meanwhile, van Ingen was in Walnut, Calif. for the Mount SAC relays, an annual meet that features distance runners that are both professional and college athletes. The event marked the first time Binghamton has sent an athlete to the meet, and van Ingen did not disappoint. Van Ingen placed sixth in the 1500m and was the second-fastest college runner in the race. His 3:40.94 performance broke the school record of 3:43.18 that he set in 2009. Van Ingen also made the B cut for the 1500m in the U.S. Olympic trials, which requires a time of 3:43.00.
On the women’s side, senior Kaitlin Sullivan swept the 100 hurdles and 400 hurdles at Cornell. She scored a time of 14.02 in the 100 hurdles, topping her 2011 school record of 14.32 in addition to meeting the ECAC qualifying standard. Sullivan also finished first in the 400 hurdles, posting a time of 1:02.38.
Senior Abbey Oakes also won on the women’s side, taking the discus 124-7. Junior Ashley AuPont took first in the high jump (5-7 3/4), beating her own school record of 5-7, which she set last year. AuPont also met the ECAC qualifying standard.
At Princeton, meanwhile, senior Lindsay Raulli was Binghamton’s top runner, placing 17th in the women’s 3,000 steeplechase with a time of 10:49.31.
Binghamton’s season is set to continue with the Cornell Big Red Invitational at 1 p.m. this Sunday at Cornell’s Robert J. Kane Sports Complex.