On Saturday April 10, both the Colgate men’s and women’s track and field teams headed to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania to compete in the Bison Outdoor Classic at Bucknell University. Even though no team scores were recorded at the meet, the Raiders had several standout individual and relay performances in the competition.

In the men’s meet, Colgate continued its success in mid-distance events. In the 400-meter hurdles, senior Phil Natoli placed fourth in the final heat, crossing the finish line in 53.53 seconds. In the 800-meter run, junior Dan Gleason placed fourth in his heat, crossing the finish line in a solid 1:55.32.

The Raiders also had measurable success in long-distance events. In the men’s 5,000-meter run, first-year Chris Johnson placed fourth in his heat, completing the race in 14:58.4.

In the 10,000-meter run, junior Ed Sheridan placed 19th out of 51 runners. Sheridan crossed the finish line in an impressive 30:51.09.

The Raiders will head out to Princeton, New Jersey for the second time this month on Friday April 16. The men have just three meets remaining, including the Princeton Invitational, before they head back to Bucknell for the Patriot League Championships from April 30 to May 1.

In the women’s portion of the meet, the Raiders continued their success this season, particularly in long-distance events. That said, Colgate also performed well in shorter-distance races on Saturday.

In the 400-meter dash, sophomore Megan Snell placed third in her heat, finishing the race in 1:00.02. Junior Michele Miller finished sixth in her heat, but her time was more impressive than her rank, as she crossed the finish line in just 59.48 seconds.

In the women’s 800-meter run, sophomore Alexandra Atkinson placed fourth in her heat, coming in at a solid 2:21.36. In the following heat, Atkinson’s fellow classmate Kendall Lyons placed second, completing the event in 2:18.78.

Following Lyons’ act, sophomore star Elise DeRoo ran a 2:16.22, good for second in her heat. In the final heat of the 800-meter run, senior Ashley Niness placed fifth, but finished the race in just 2:14.27.

The times were personal bests for DeRoo, Lyons and Niness. Niness’s time is currently ranked the second-fastest 800-meter run in the Patriot League this outdoor season.

The Raiders had tremendous success in the 1,500-meter run, placing two runners in the top-10 of each of the first two heats. In the first heat, first-year runner Caroline Prins placed second, finishing the race in 5:07.67. She edged out Katrina Oberski of Detroit Mercy by just .3 seconds. Sophomore Hilary Edmunds came in a few runners behind her, placing ninth in the heat and completing the event in 5:17.22.

In the second heat of the race, senior captain Susan Fortkiewicz placed third, snapping the tape in 5:02.56. She was trailed in eighth place by classmate Emily Oliver, who crossed the finish line in 5:09.45.

In the 5,000-meter run, junior Stacey Marion placed third in her heat, finishing with a time of 18:24.09. In the 10,000-meter run, sophomore Kelly Cattano placed seventh out of 31 runners, finishing in 37:06.1.

Along with their strong individual performances, the Raiders also experienced continued success in relay events. Colgate’s ‘A’ team won the second heat of the 4×100 relay. The quartet of Snell, Atkinson, Niness and Miller teamed up to finish the race in 49.14.

The same squad competed together again in the 4×400-meter relay. The team placed just seventh in their heat, but they recorded a solid finishing time of 4:07.18.

Colgate also ran a ‘B’ squad in the 4×400-meter relay. The team, consisting of junior Noelle Edmonson, and first-years Amy Sleeper, Ellen Callahan and Jean Sauter, finished fourth in their heat with a time of 4:10.66.

In the 1500-meter run invite, DeRoo placed fifth out of 15 runners, finishing the race in 4:36.04. She was trailed by sophomore teammates Chelsea Burns (10th) and Lyons (11th), who finished with times of 4:40.18 and 4:41.75, respectively.

Like the men’s squad, the women have only until the end of this month to prepare for the Patriot League Championship, but they have four meets between now and their next trip to Lewisburg to prepare for the Championship.

The team will return to action next on Friday April 16 in

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for the Moravian Invitational.

Contact Matt Flannery at [email protected].