STATEN ISLAND/ROCHESTER, NY – The Alfred University women's track & field team sent some of their Saxons to the Fastrack National Invite at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex, a banked 200-meter track & field complex, filled with teams from across the country, and the rest to Rochester Institute of Technology on Friday evening.
 
From Staten Island, Olivia Gilbert (Ontario, NY/Wayne Central) had the top performance, finishing 20^th out of 99 runners from across Division III, II and Division I in the 800-meter run. She ran a 2:20.42, qualifying for not only the Empire 8 Championships, but also the All-Atlantic Regional Track & Field (AARTFC) Indoor Championships. Her time was converted to a flat surface time of 2:22.04 and still holds the top time in the Empire 8.
 
Anne Spila (Mechanicsburg, PA/Trinity) also had a Top-25 finish from Ocean Breeze, running an Empire 8 time of 9.61 to finish 23^rd out of 47 competitors in the 60-meter hurdles. McKenzie Hall (Hornell, NY/Hornell) clocked a time of 5:32.21 in the mile for 53^rd place while Zoe Rainville (Saranac, NY/Saranac) ran a 27.85 in the 200-meter dash to finish 70^th. Both times are Empire 8 marks.
 
"We had a good showing despite some very stiff competition. Our goal was to have the athletes get a feel of what this level of competition is like, and they did a great job rising to the challenge," Head Coach Matt Phillips '10 said. "In addition to this being a very physically demanding competition, it required a great deal of mental strength and toughness competing in the same heat and flight as Division I athletes. With our conference meet coming up in two weeks, we are in a great place this indoor season."
 
Back in Western New York, Bianca Durso (Utica, NY/New Hartford Senior) led the way for AU, winning the high jump in a jump-off. She cleared both of her opening heights, last being 1.52m (4'-11.75"). All of Durso's events resulted in Empire 8 qualifying standards, including her next best finish of sixth place in the 60-meter hurdles. She qualified in the seventh place seat with a time of 10.57 during prelims before taking sixth with a time of 10.84. Durso also qualified with a distance of 9.15m (30'-0.25") in the shot put, taking 18^th as well as taking 19^th in the long jump with her final qualifying distance of 4.71m (15'-5.5"). Annabelle Townsend (Woodsville, NH/Woodsville) also qualified for Empire 8's with a distance of 4.58m (15'-0.5") in the long jump, finishing 21^st.
 
Mari Jablonski (Monticello, GA/Jasper County) hit two Empire 8 marks with an eighth place finish in the 5,000-meter run, running a 20:34.49, and in the 3K, clocking a 12:04.51.
 
"It was amazing to see the Saxons at RIT hit such good marks and perform so well across the board. There were multiple season-bests and career-bests that were hit and it's just proof that their training is paying off," volunteer coach and Director of Athletic Communications, Chris Boswell said. "It was such a unique situation to where the teams split and myself, along with Associate Vice President for Student Experience, Athletics & Recreation, Deb Steward, stepped in to help the Saxons compete at RIT. Along with the help of senior, Sarah Lutkins, as well as the captains, Bianca, Andrew Parnapy and Kevin Flint, everyone was where they needed to be and everyone supported each other to have a great Friday night meet. The work that everyone put in throughout their practices with Coach Phillips, Coach Wilson, Coach Taylor and Coach Nunez was evident in their performances and we have nothing but pride for how they carried themselves."
 
The Saxons will next close out their regular season with a Friday trip to Nazareth University for a 3:30pm meet on February 16, before the two-day Empire 8 Indoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Houghton University the following weekend.