Track and field teams compete at Raleigh Relays and Lafayette Open

Over the weekend, five Bearcats traveled to the Raleigh Relays at North Carolina State to open up the outdoor season for the Binghamton track and field teams. There was no team scoring, but two Binghamton runners placed in the top 10 of their events.

Redshirt senior Dan Schaffer opened the outdoor season, breaking a school record in the men’s 5K, a mark he set during the indoor season. The Bearcat crossed the finish line with a time of 13:45.20, six seconds better than his previous record-setting finish. That time was good enough to place sixth overall and fourth among collegiate runners. The race hosted 223 athletes in total. Schaffer’s finish earned him America East Men’s Track Performer of the Week honors.

The other top-10 finisher was redshirt junior Aziza Chigatayeva who finished ninth out of 36 runners in the 3K steeplechase. Chigatayeva clocked in a time of 10:20.58, less than half a second better than the runner behind her. Last year, the Bearcat set the school record in the event with a time of 10:15.85. NC State hosted over 150 schools at the meet.

The rest of the teams started their outdoor season at the 2022 Lafayette Open. On the men’s side, six individuals and one relay team finished in the gold position. For the women, four athletes and two relay teams finished first.

For the field events, junior Marcrene Jeannot recorded a triple jump of 48-06.00 feet, and sophomore Brandon Love registered a 14-11.00-foot clearance in the pole vault, each good enough for first. The men’s runners finishing first included, graduate student Matt Goyden in the 3K steeplechase (9:40.68), sophomore Evan Parise in the 200 (23.32), sophomore Marcus Johnson in the 400 hurdles (56.02) and senior Dan Gahagan in the 1500-meter event (3:59.79). The men’s relay team took gold in the 4×400, finishing with a time of 3:28.94.

All the women winners were in track events, including graduate student Elisabeth Van Tassel in the 3K steeplechase (11:50.78), sophomore Jenna Chan in the 100 hurdles (14.10), graduate student Carmela Culhane in the 800-meter race (2:23.38) and sophomore Penelope Paldino in the 400 hurdles (1:03.85). The women’s sides won the 4×100 and 4×400 with times of 48.35 and 4:08.63, respectively.

The teams will next head to the William & Mary Colonial Relays this weekend, April 1-2. The meet is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. at the Walter J. Zable Stadium in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Golf takes on Battle at Rum Pointe

Over the weekend, the Binghamton golf team continued its season with the Battle at Rum Pointe hosted by Iona. The Bearcats placed 17th out of 22 teams, but individually senior D.J. Griffiths earned his third career top-10 finish as he tied for eighth.

The Bearcat finished one over par, finishing with a score of 143. Griffiths was consistent on the course, as he stroked 72 on day one and 73 on day two. His finish earned him Big Sky Men’s Golfer of the Week Honors. The next closest finisher was freshman Tynan Jones, who tied for 27th place. The freshman hit 75 each day to finish six over par. Freshman Shawn Colella, graduate student Justin Lane and junior Evan Sitts all tied for 83rd place. The three finished +14, but Colella and Lane cleaned up their performance on day two, moving up 27 and 19 spots, respectively. Senior Scott Kleeschulte rounded out the group, finishing tied for 97th.

The Bearcats are next scheduled to head to the Sacred Heart Invitational from Sunday, April 10 to Tuesday, April 12. The three-day tournament is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. at Great River Golf Club in Milford, Connecticut.

Tennis teams extend losing streaks following weekend matchups

Both the women’s (0-17) and men’s (1-15, 0-5 Mid-America Conference [MAC]) tennis teams competed this weekend, each adding to their losing streaks. The women’s side fell 0-7 at Northern Illinois, extending its losing streak to 27 matches. The team has not won a match since the 2019-2020 campaign. The men’s side also got swept, losing to Toledo and bringing their drought to nine matches. Of the seven sets, the men had to forfeit three due to a lack of players.

The women will take on Temple next on Saturday, April 2. First set is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the TU Pavilion Tennis Courts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The men’s side will head to Northern Illinois on Friday, April 1. First set is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Chick Evans Field House in DeKalb, Illinois.