The Colgate men’s and women’s track and field teams are off to a strong start to the outdoor season.  Combined, the teams achieved a total of 13 top-five finishes, one program record and seven personal best times this past Saturday, April 1, at an 8-way meet hosted by Lafayette.

The men’s team had a great showing on Saturday afternoon, finishing with nine top-five finishes. Senior captain Watson Hanson set a personal record in the 5,000-meter race with a time of 15:35.02. Junior Jonathan Abbott finished fourth close behind teammate Hanson. Sophomore Warren Carter also achieved a personal record in the 110-meter hurdle race. Senior Aidan Kutner finished fourth with a season-best time of 57.67 in the 400-meter hurdles. 

Another notable Colgate achievement came from first-year runner Kobi Grant who finished second in the 200-meter dash with an quick time of 23.22 seconds. Grant. Additionally, Grant placed fourth in the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.42 seconds and helped the Raiders secure a third place finish in the 4×100-meter relay. The men’s track team plan to return to action with the hopes of another great performance this Saturday, April 7, at the Hamilton Invitational, hosted by Hamilton College in Clinton, NY.

The Colgate women’s track team also had strong early season accomplishments competing at the same 8-way meet, achieving many titles and multiple personal records from various student athletes. Senior captain, Tina Bowers took first place in the 5,000-meter race finishing with a time of 18:28.11. Bowers’ impressive showing matched her first place title in the 3,000-Meter steeplechase of her last meet on March 19 in Myrtle Beach. Her time of 11:27.27 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase broke her 2016 program record of 11:28.45.

Seniors Meghan Dioguardi and Maggie Cusick both set personal records, Dioguardi in the 1,500-meter race with a time of 5:04.34 and Cusick in long jump with a season best distance of 5.14 meters. Senior Breanne Wilson-Bennett, a dual Division I Colgate student athlete, is, in addition to track and field, a lead contributer of the No. 2 nationally ranked women’s ice hockey team. This Lafayette meet was her first competition of the season, coming off a stellar showing in the NCAA DI Women’s Ice Hockey National Championships, she finished second in the javelin throw. 

Overall, both the men and women student athletes on the track and field team had very impressive performances this week. 

“The confidence we have going into our next meet is very high. We are very proud of ourselves, and we all need to work really hard this week in order to accomplish everything we can this Saturday at Hamilton,” Sophomore Vicky Martinez said. 

The team will have its next chance to perform at the Hamilton Invitational this coming weekend on Saturday, April 4. 

Contact Lindsay West at lwest@colgate.edu.