The Binghamton track and field teams opened their season at the Cornell Greg Page Relays and the Colyear-Danville Season Opener in Ithaca, New York and Boston, Massachusetts respectively over the weekend. Despite no team scoring at either meet, the Bearcats earned some strong individual performances.

“They performed very well,” said Binghamton head coach Mike Thompson. “The preparation is three months leading up into that first meet, so everybody is always fired up and ready to compete after three months of just training,”

At Cornell, the redshirt freshman Brian Luciano won the weight throw with a distance of 63-7.5, breaking his previous school record of 59-10.5 feet, which he set at last year’s Cornell Greg Page Relays meet. In addition, junior Jaston Ormsby captured a third-place finish in the weight throw, setting a personal record with a distance of 59-0.75.

“It was great,” Thompson said. “I kind of expected [Luciano] to do that, but it was fantastic to see him open up with the best throw of his life … last year, he redshirted indoors and outdoors … I’m happy to have him back. I’m happy to have him throwing for us now.”

On the women’s side, senior Gianna Hoose also recorded a podium finish at Cornell, placing third in the weight throw, registering a distance of 52-3.25. Also, senior Penelope Paldino competed for the first time in the pentathlon, clocking a time of 9.21 in the 60-meter hurdles, which was good enough for second place. Paladino also placed fourth in the 800-meter race, capturing a time of 2:46.03. Another notable performance was that of sophomore Logan Wheeler, who finished tied for third in the high jump.

“For [Paldino], it was her first time ever doing the pentathlon,” Thompson said. “So it was really just a chance for her to do one and see what it’s all about … [Paldino] was very excited about it and she has a lot of potential, so we’re looking forward to seeing how she does.”

In Boston, senior Josh Stone clocked in a time of 14:07.80 in the 5,000-meter race. Despite finishing in 117th place, his time ranks second all-time in Binghamton program history, breaking his previous record of 14:10.30 which was set last year. Graduate student Ryan Guerci also competed in the race but ultimately did not cross the finish line.

“It was impressive,” Thompson said. “[In Stone’s] case based on where he was in cross country, it was great to see him have a strong race right out of the gate so I’m looking forward to seeing how he does next semester.”

Other competitors included graduate student Marty Dolan, who competed in the unseeded 5,000-meter race. He finished in 40th place with a time of 14:52.96.

“I think that was just a solid opener to the season for [Dolan],” Thompson said. “It wasn’t anything more or less than that, it was just a race to get him geared back toward track and field.”

Binghamton’s next competition will be the Seahawk Shootout, which begins on Friday, Dec. 8. First event is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Ocean Breeze Park Track and Field Athletic Complex in Staten Island, New York.