This weekend, the Binghamton men’s and women’s track and field teams traveled to Delaware and Virginia to compete at the William and Mary’s Colonial Relays and Delaware Invitational. At the Colonial Relays, the women’s teams placed first and sixth while the men’s team finished eighth overall. Then, at the Delaware Invitational, four Bearcats finished in the top five.

“It was a great weekend overall for all of our event groups, throwers, distance runners, sprinters [and] hurlers,” said Binghamton head Coach Mike Thompson. “Everybody had a nice solid weekend.”

At the Colonial Relays, the top performers on the women’s side included senior Jenna Chan who competed in the 100 hurdles and won with a time of 13.88 seconds. In addition, sophomore Alyssa Armitage captured first place in pole vault with a height of 12-10.5. Fellow sophomore Sydney Leitner took second place in the 10k race with a time of 35:18.06.

The Bearcat’s hot streak continued during the 1600 sprint medley. The group of graduate student Gabby Hyatt, graduate student Sophia Morone, junior Hillary Abankwa and freshman Vicky Mordvinova placed first, finishing with a time of 4:06.22.

“On the women’s side of the Colonial Relays, [Leitner] shattered the school record in the 10k,” Thompson said. “She ran really well. [Chan] ran a really solid early season race in the hurdles.”

The men’s team found similar success as well at the Colonial Relays. Senior Marcus Johnson took first place in two events after clocking in a time of 52.76 in the 400 hurdles and a leap of 47-0 in the triple jump. Freshman Liam Cody finished first in the 1500 with a time of 3.58.17, 67 milliseconds faster than the second-place finisher. Finally, junior Joey Cardascia ran the clock in a time of 47.95 in the 400, good enough for third place.

“On the men’s side, [Johnson stood out] for sure for hurdles,” Thompson said. “That’s one of the best times of all time for us. [Johnson is] looking great. Honestly, I think he might be able to get the school record later this year. He also did well in the triple job. Got first in the triple jump.”

While competing at the Delaware Invitational, some new Binghamton records were set. During the hammer throw, redshirt freshman Brian Luciano set a new record for the second-longest throw for a freshman in program history at 188-4.5. Luciano also holds the title for the first longest throw for a freshman with a throw of 196-6, which he set at the Raleigh Relays last week.

“[Luciano’s] ultimate goal was to make it to the regional championship,” Thompson said. “He’ll need to throw a little bit further than his best to do that. But it was just another opportunity for him to throw, and I think it was a solid performance for him.”

Additionally, on the men’s side at the Delaware Invitational, freshman Jose Iraola-Ceely finished third with a throw of 161-2.5. For the women’s team, senior Gianna Hoose secured second place in the hammer throw with a throw of 165-1 and junior Erin Waters finished fifth with a throw of 152-4.5

“The Bucknell meet is just another means toward our goal of doing well at the conference meet,” Thompson said. “So I think we’re right on track. I think all of the event groups are starting to come together. So we have about a month before the conference meet. We just look to improve each weekend leading into that.”

The Bearcats will return to compete at the Bucknell Outdoor Challenge starting on Saturday, April 13. First event is set for 10 a.m. at the Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium Track in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.