The Binghamton men’s and women’s track and field teams had a full weekend of competition as athletes were scattered across the East Coast to compete in three different events. Throughout Friday and Saturday, the Bearcats competed in the Millrose Games, the Big Apple Invite and the Fierce Valentine’s Invite respectively. Even though there was no team scoring, several Bearcats etched records into the Binghamton program history book.
“We had a lot of really good performances this weekend at all three meets so I was very happy with how it went,” said head coach Mike Thompson.
On Friday, redshirt freshman Brian Luciano and junior Jaston Ormsby competed at the Millrose Games. During the weight throw invitational, Luciano took third overall with 65-9 ¾ with Ormsby trailing close behind in fifth after getting 60-4 ½.
“They just wanted to go there because it’s the Millrose Games, so it’s a cool meet and a good opportunity for them,” Thompson said.
Then on Saturday at the Big Apple Invitational, Luciano and Ormsby grabbed the top spots on the podium in weight throwing. The redshirt freshman placed first with a throw of 63-2 while the junior took second with a distance of 61-2. More victories for Binghamton at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex include senior Jenna Chan finishing first in the women’s 60 hurdles with a time of 8.48 and junior Zoe Rose placing first with a time of 5:07.47 in the women’s mile.
Meanwhile, in the highly competitive Valentine’s Invitational at the Boston University Track and Tennis Center, the Bearcats excelled in several events over this two-day competition. BU houses one of the largest indoor meets in the country which attracts a myriad of NCAA programs as well as several professional runners.
“The people that went to Boston were our top distance runners and long sprinters, and we sent them to Boston because that’s the fastest track you can run on indoors, probably the fastest track in the country,” Thompson said. “Anything 200 meters and longer, is a good chance of getting fast times there.”
On Friday, graduate student Sophia Ryan finished 84th out of 318 runners during the women’s mile run. After clocking in a time of 4:49.56, Ryan’s achievement ranked her second all-time in Binghamton’s program history. Then, freshman Vicky Mordvinova made history when she broke the Binghamton freshman record while running in the women’s 1000m. She bested the 16-year-old record after garnering a time of 2:58.57 and trumped the previous record holder Kim Law’s time of 2:58.80 set in 2008.
“She ran great,” Thompson said. “She was very good in high school, and she’s starting to get back in shape. She missed some training time early in the season. It’s nice to see her have a really good run in. I think she will just keep getting better throughout the rest of the indoor season but especially through the outdoor season.”
While competing at Boston on Saturday, Senior Josh Stone made his mark on Binghamton’s athletic records as he won the men’s 5000m race in the fifth heat with a time of 13:55.84. During his endeavors, Stone ran the second-fastest time in Binghamton program history with the current first-place time standing at 13:36.23. Overall, the senior placed 60th out of 125 runners in the event.
“That was a fantastic race for [Stone],” Thompson said. “It was exciting to see that unfold.”
The Bearcats placed seventh out of 43 other teams during the men’s 4×400 relay. The squad consisted of senior Marcus Johnson, sophomore Samson Joseph and juniors Oliver Madariaga and Joey Cardascia. Their relay time was 3:13.72 which ranks as eighth all-time in Binghamton program history.
“The next meet is the conference meet so hopefully everyone will be well rested and sharp and excited and ready to go,” Thompson said.
The Bearcats will finish out the indoor season at the America East (AE) Indoor Championships which run from Monday, Feb. 19 to Tuesday, Feb. 20. First event is set for 10 a.m. at the Track at New Balance in Boston, Massachusetts.