It was a day of firsts for the Binghamton University men’s track and field team at the Cornell Invitational this past Saturday, as superb performances by sophomore Cazal Arnett and senior Joanel Lopez capped off the season-opening festivities.

Arnett, participating in the 300 meters, finished in first place in a record-breaking time of 34.2 seconds, easily smashing Omar Eldakar’s previous school record of 35.4 seconds set in 2000. Lopez set a record of his own, finishing second in the shot put with a distance of 51-9. That distance was good enough to surpass Kevin Hall’s 2007 tally of 51-7 and give Lopez the new school record.

“Setting records is nice, but it is something that will take a back seat to the way Arnett and Lopez performed,” said BU head coach Mike Thompson.

“I was happy that they set records, but their performances were excellent,” Thompson said. “Obviously, if they continue to improve, they will be very good, but it was exciting to see what they did.”

Other notables include freshman Eric VanAerman, who finished third in the pole vault with a score of 15-3, and sophomore Chris Kowalski who, with a score of 4,329 in the heptathlon, also finished third. These performances, as well as others, were enough to satisfy Thompson.

“As a whole, I think they performed very well,” he said. “A lot of them had good early performances, while others looked better than their performances indicated. Overall, I am happy with the way they performed.”

Over on the women’s side, junior Margaret Tinker turned in a solid effort, placing second in the shot put with a mark of 36-6.25. Also, freshman Samantha Howell finished third in the 300 meters with a time of 42.9 seconds, while sophomore Rosie DeFino reached third in the long jump with a showing of 17-11. Thompson had nothing but good things to say about the women’s team as well.

“They looked really good,” he said. “Howell ran well in the 300 and DeFino had a personal best in hurdles. They looked very good as a whole. The key is to get better as the season goes on.”

The Bearcats can rest up now, as their next scheduled match is the West Point Invitational on Jan. 17.