The men's and women's track and field teams both competed in two events this past weekend: the SPIRE Division I Invitational and the Cornell Kane Invitational.
The men's team won one event and had five athletes finish in the top five over the course of the weekend, while the women's team had two athletes finish in the top five of their events.
Both teams set new school records at the SPIRE meet.
For the men's team, freshman distance runner Brian Crimmins beat the previous school record for the 1,000-meter dash by three seconds, finishing in 2:24:16. The time was good for sixth place.
"For a freshman to come in and run against that caliber of athletes is incredible," said head coach Perry Jenkins. "He has a lot in the tank. It's incredible for a freshman to able to break a record of that size."
Crimmins also competed in the one-mile run, finishing 14th, one spot behind teammate senior Michael Pressler.
Junior sprinter Miles Lewis finished second in the men's 60-meter dash with a time of 6.82, missing out on first place by just .02 seconds. Lewis set the school record in the 60-meter earlier this season at the Cornell Upstate Challenge with a time of 6.76. He also finished seventh in the men's 200-meter with a time of 21.18.
The men's team also found success in the 400-meter dash, with two runners finishing in the top 10. Senior Will Cole placed sixth with a time of 49.28, a season best for him, and freshman Brian Cummiskey placed ninth with a time of 49.45.
Junior Jonathan Jones and sophomore Austin Price both finished fourth in their respective events. Jones had a top throw of 60-5.25 (18.42m) in the men's shot put, while Price cleared 48-10.25 in the men's triple jump, tying him with Michigan State's Jarred Gambrell.
The women's team was also competitive at the SPIRE meet.
Sophomore mid-distance runner Meghan Manley set a new school record in the 800-meter dash with a time of 2:06:97. It was her best time this season.
"She was definitely ready to compete and run a personal best," said women's head coach Vickie Mitchell. "This makes me really excited for what's going to come for her in two weeks at the conference meet."
Senior Shante' White earned a fifth-place finish in the women's weight throw at 63-3.50 (19.29m). The women's team also had two top-10 finishers in the shot put, with senior Erin Miller finishing ninth and Rachel Roberts finishing 10th. Miller's throw of 47-9 (14.55m) was a season best.
Sophomore Kelly Truppo was also in the top 10 of her event, placing 10th in the women's pole vault at 12-0.50 (3.67m).
At the Cornell event on Sunday, freshman Micah Oliver placed fifth in the 60-meter dash for the men's team with a time of 7.04. Oliver had a good showing in the 200-meter dash, as well, where he placed sixth in 22.88. Freshman Mike Morgan won the only event for either team this weekend, securing a first-place finish in the men's high jump at 6-6.26.
The women's team also had a top-five finisher in its high-jump event at Cornell; sophomore Danielle Anderson placed third with 5-3. Freshmen Sabrina Bush placed seventh in the woman's 60-meter hurdle final in 9.18.
Both coaches are looking ahead to the Mid-American Conference championships in two weeks.
"We have a very young team, but we also have a very talented team," Jenkins said. "I look around at our guys and we belong here. It's time to win a MAC Championship."
Mitchell shares Jenkins' optimism.
"Going into the conference championships, I think we can be very competitive," Mitchell said. "I think we can surprise a lot of people. My goal is for them to go in and compete with everything that they have, put forth a great individual and team effort. If we do that, then we will have a very successful conference championship."
Both the men's and women's teams will be back in Cornell this weekend for the Cornell Denault Invitational on Saturday.
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Photo: Courtesy of UB Athletics
