Saxons Shine at Pennsylvania Invitationals

SELINSGROVE/NEW WILMINGTON, PA – The Alfred University women's track & field team traveled to Susquehanna University on April 10th and 11th followed by Westminster College on Saturday, April 12th.

On Thursday and Friday, Anne Spila (Mechanicsburg, PA/Trinity) competed in the heptathlon at the Susquehanna River Hawk Multi & Invitational, breaking her own school record. Spila finished in third place out of the 13 athletes who competed in the Maroon Women's Heptathlon. Some of her notable events out of the seven were the shot put and javelin throw. Spila beat her own personal best in the shot put with a mark of 10.24m ('33-7.25") on her final attempt of three. This throw scored her 545 points and placed her fourth in the event. Spila had a third place finish in the javelin throw, marking an impressive 31.09m ('102-0") on her second attempt and claiming 497 points. In total, Spila scored 4341 points to achieve her personal best score in the heptathlon.

On Saturday, the Saxons traveled to Westminster College Invitational where Meridian Bremel (Reading, VT/Woodstock Union) claimed a first place finish in her flight for the discus throw. Her furthest throw was a personal best marking of 32.82m ('107-8"), where she ranked 11th overall. Great things are on Bremel's horizon as she approaches the 10 year old school record. Teammates Briana Dorr (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) and Shansanique Pollack (Troy, NY/Lansingburgh) accompanied Bremel in the discus throw. Dorr threw her furthest mark of 26.64m ('87-5") and Pollack followed with a 21.66m mark ('71-1").

Dorr also competed in the shot put among 51 athletes. Dorr's furthest throw was 10.11m ('33-2"), claiming her eighth place in her flight and 25th overall.

In the 400-meter hurdles, Annabelle Townsend (Woodsville, NH/Woodsville) placed seventh overall out of the 24 competitors. Townsend finished second in her section with a personal best time of 1:09.42.

Alicia Kocan (Hornell, NY/Arkport Central) and Mahina Elchibekova (Ishkoshim, Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan/I.Ismailov School #21/Middlebury Union) crossed the line one after another in the 1500 meter run. Kocan claimed a time of 6:04.75 and Elchibekova followed at 6:05.86.

The Saxons showed out for the 4x400 meter relay with Zoe Rainville (Saranac, NY/Saranac), Townsend, Natalya Ryckman (New Eagle, PA/Ringgold) and Octavia Fred (Dunkirk, NY/Dunkirk). The relay team took third place in their section and 10th overall with a time of 4:30.21.

"Coming off a solid indoor season, Anne really built a phenomenal base with consistency and discipline which is what she is taking into her senior outdoor season," Assistant Coach David Brannigan said. "She continues to chop wood and carry water (take care of the little things) every week on and off the track. I am ecstatic for our championship season in May as well as her getting more opportunities to set the standard for future Saxon athletes."

"The ladies did a terrific job preparing themselves to compete in the cold, and against some great competition," Assistant Head Coach Sierra Wilson remarked. "As we start to head into the postseason, the performances are coming together and I am excited to see what they can accomplish over the next few weeks."

The Saxons will next compete at Alfred State College on Friday, April 18th at 4:00 PM for a Saxon for Saxon competition.

--Swords Forward Saxons--

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Briana Dorr: Throws; Sophomore

Mahina Elchibekova: Distance; Sophomore

Octavia Fred: Sprints; Sophomore

Shansanique Pollack: Throws; Sophomore

Zoe Rainville: Sprints; Sophomore

Natalya Ryckman: Throws/Sprints; Senior

Anne Spila: Multi; Senior

Annabelle Townsend: Hurdles; Senior

Meridian Bremel: Throws; First Year

Players Mentioned

Briana Dorr
: Sophomore
: Throws

Mahina Elchibekova
: Sophomore
: Distance

Octavia Fred
: Sophomore
: Sprints

Shansanique Pollack
: Sophomore
: Throws

Zoe Rainville
: Sophomore
: Sprints

Natalya Ryckman
: Senior
: Throws/Sprints

Anne Spila
: Senior
: Multi

Annabelle Townsend
: Senior
: Hurdles

Meridian Bremel
: First Year
: Throws