Women's Track and Field | 4/19/2015 5:29:00 PM

Women's results l Men's results | Men's all-conference teams | Women's all-conference teams
PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- Nazareth' women's track and field team won conference titles in three individual events Sunday to post a strong second-place finish at the Empire 8 Conference Track and Field Championships contested at St. John Fisher's Polisseni Track and Field Complex. Ithaca won the team title with 245 points. It is the Bombers' 11th Empire 8 title in 12 years. Nazareth was next with 97, its best E8 performance ever. Stevens took third with 81 points.

The Golden Flyers finished in fifth place in the men's competition with three individual titlists. The Golden Flyers amassed 61 points to finish behind St. John Fisher, Ithaca, Utica and Stevens. Fisher's 151 points earned the the Cardinals the men's title, while Ithaca finished second with 126 points. It is the first time since 2006 that Ithaca has not won at least a share of the men's title. Stevens was third with 124 points.

Senior Hannah Brackley and junior Gabrielle LeBihan each repeated as conference champions in the 400-meter dash and the 3,000-meter steeplechase respectively. Brackley broke her own school record with a time of :56.99, while LeBihan won with a time of 11:28.63. Junior Taylor Pierson also won the E8 title in the long jump with her best performance of the outdoor season with a leap of 5.49 meters (18 feet, 1/4 inch).

Nazareth also won both relays: the 4 x 100-meter relay, featuring the foursome of Sibongile Chisi, Pierson, Amanda Entress and Brackley, with a time of :49.65; and the 4 x 400-meter relay with Samantha Goble, Gildemeyer, Andrea Larnard and Brackley with a time of 4:03.87.

Brackley also finished second in the 200-meter dash as she crossed the finish line with her best time of the season in :25.54. Pierson also competed and finished sixth in :26.87 and also placed fifth in the 100-meter dash (:12.84). Goble posted a personal-best time in placing second in the 800-meter run in 2:18.35. Gildemeyer was fourth (2:22.73) and freshman Kimmy Lovett was eighth (2:24.54). Gildemeyer also ran fourth in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:49.91.

Lovett also ran in the steeplechase and placed third in 11:37.37. Freshman Sarah Williams earned points in the 400-meter hurdles with a fifth-place finish (1:11.63). Sophomore Emily Thompson (19:12.74) and junior Robin Wagner (19:39.5) placed seventh and 10th, respectively, in the 5,000-meter run to finish in the top-10 but outside of earning points.

In the field events, freshman Emily Soeder was third in the high jump with a leap of 1.57 meters (5 feet, 1 3/4 inches), and junior Amanda Entress was fourth in the triple jump with a mark of 10.72 meters (35 feet, 2 inches). Chisi was fifth in the pole vault as she cleared 2.97 meters (9 feet, 9 inches).

In the men's meet, Nazareth got first-place finishes from junior Luis Rivera in the hammer throw, junior Tom Sippie in the 400-meter dash and sophomore Matt Battaglia in the 800-meter run. Rivera was a repeat winner in the hammer throw with a distance of 50.70 meters (166 feet, 4 inches). Sippie and freshman teammate Nick LaBarbera finished 1-2 in the 400 with times of :50.06 and :50.11 respectively.

Battaglia had a personal-best time of 1:56.61 to win the 800 and to secure 10 additional team points for the Golden Flyers. Sippie, Battaglia, and LaBarbera teamed with Jacob Murray for the Golden Flyers' first-place 4 x 400-meter relay. The relay finished with a time of 3:23.55.

Freshman Kevin Witt placed fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:10.09), and junior Khiary Gayle was third in the triple jump with a leap of 13.17 meters (43 feet, 2 1/2 inches). Junior Patrick Neureuter was seventh in the men's 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:55.39.

Junior Brandon Vuolo added a sixth-place finish in the discus as he recorded a mark of 39.57 meters (129 feet, 10 inches). Vuolo also had top-10 performances in the hammer throw and shot put. He was seventh in the hammer with a heave of 41.62 meters (136 feet, 6 inches), and he was eighth in the shot with a throw of 12.61 meters (41 feet, 4 1/2 inches).

Nazareth returns to Fisher on April 25th to compete in the St. John Fisher Invitational. The NYSCTC Multis are the 26th and 27th at the University of Rochester.