ROCHESTER, NY – The Alfred University women's track & field team had a historic Day One of the Empire 8 Indoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Nazareth College, as three Saxons surpassed school records that were established prior to competition.
 
Olivia Gilbert (Ontario, NY/Wayne Central), Bianca Durso (Utica, NY/New Hartford Senior) and Anne Spila (Mechanicsburg, PA/Trinity) all beat school record marks that were in place prior to the start of the meet.
 
Gilbert broke her own 400-meter dash record with a time of 1:01.37 as she finished sixth overall. Durso was the first multi athlete to surpass the pentathlon record set in 1999 by Jen Brewer. Brewer posted a point total of 2,693 points back in '99. Durso was the first Saxon to cross the finish line in the 800-meter run to set her point total on Friday at 2,749 points. Spila crossed the line next to post her total score of 2,792 points and is now the school record holder in the event.
 
Spila finished third in the meet with her top scoring event being the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 10.09 to score 695 points. Durso followed closely in fourth place with her best mark being in the high jump, scoring 666 points with a clearance of 1.54m.
 
"Day one our hard work pays off! PR's flying all around," Assistant Coach, Beth Watson said. "Our emotions were high as two school records were broken. Our multis also broke the school record twice, one after another. Super proud of these ladies. I'm excited for to see what tomorrow holds."
 
Annabelle Townsend (Woodsville, NH/Woodsville) and Natalya Ryckman (New Eagle, PA/Ringgold) also competed in the pentathlon, finishing eighth and 10^th, respectively with point totals of 2,060 and 1,876.
 
Nyah Solly (Colden, NY/Springville-Griffith Institute) scored a team point with her sixth-place finish in the long jump, clearing 5.17m (16'-11.5") on her first attempt. Spila was close behind with a second jump distance of 4.96m (16'-3.25"), making finals but not finding a spot on the podium.
 
Ana Ion (Bucharest, Romania/Episcopal School of Jacksonville) was the final individual Saxon to earn a place on the podium, finishing sixth with a throw of 10.75m (35'-3.25"). Her throw was her first of the finals after qualifying with a distance of 9.90m (32'-5.75"). She qualified as the eighth seed and her finals throw bumped her up two spots to score AU a team point.
 
The distance medley relay team of Gilbert, Ashley Page (Wayland, NY/Wayland-Cohocton), Sarah Lutkins (Union Springs, NY/Union Springs) and McKenzie Hall (Hornell, NY/Hornell) combined for a time of 13:28.77 to finish fourth. The time scored them four team points to close out the day for AU.
 
The Saxons will close out the Indoor Championships on Saturday, February 25 with the first events slated to begin at 10:30am.