For the second time in his career, redshirt senior Dan Schaffer represented the Binghamton track and field teams at the prestigious Millrose Games in New York City. The 114th annual event at the Fort Washington Avenue Armory featured the most elite track and field athletes from around the globe, including Schaffer, who was invited to compete in the men’s Michael Blum Invitational Mile.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for [Schaffer] to compete again at an elite level,” said Binghamton head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach Annette Acuff, per bubearcats.com. “It’s hard to replicate the experience gained at Millrose and it’s a special accomplishment for our program.”

Schaffer’s first experience at the 2020 Millrose Games did not go according to plan. The Bearcat was pushed off the starting line in the men’s Allan Steinfeld Invitational Mile, forcing the race to be restarted. Then, Schaffer began his second attempt at the race on equal footing with his competition, but ultimately fell behind in the final 400 of the event as the rest of the elite-level athletes began to pull away. Schaffer placed 10th that year.

In 2022, Schaffer was once again invited back to compete in the mile event. This time, however, the Bearcat ran a strong final 400 to clock in at 3:59.31 to finish third overall among 13 competitors, including Binghamton alumnus and 2020 Olympic Trials competitor Eric Holt, who placed two spots behind him.

Although Schaffer’s mile time at The Armory was not a personal best for the Bearcat, it marked his third time finishing under four minutes in the mile. Schaffer’s time of 3:59.31 outsped Adidas athlete Hobbs Kessler, Nike athlete Craig Engels and 2016 800-meter Olympic bronze medalist Clayton Murphy, who all competed in the world-renowned WHOOP Men’s Wanamaker Mile later in the day. The iconic event was won by Australian Olympic athlete Ollie Hoare, who ran a national record and world-leading time of 3:50.83.

While Schaffer took to the track in New York City, the remainder of the Binghamton men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at three separate meets.

Two Bearcats hit the road to take on the John Thomas Terrier Classic at Boston University. Both redshirt senior Emily Mackay and redshirt junior Aziza Chigatayeva competed in the women’s 3K on Friday among a field of 105 finishing athletes. Mackay was the highest-finishing collegiate runner on the track, clocking in at 8:54.45 to take third place overall. Currently, Mackay’s 3K time from Friday’s meet ranks as the sixth-fastest in the nation. Her mile time of 4:32.55, which she ran at the Penn State National Open just over a week ago, remains the fastest among all female collegiate runners in the country.

Chigatayeva finished 13 positions behind Mackay, but still recorded a time of 9:29.04 to beat out the majority of the competition. Both Bearcats’ times beat out the previous indoor program record of 9:50.33, which Chigatayeva set back in 2019.

The rest of the Bearcats split up to compete at both the Cornell Robert J. Kane Invitational and the Sykes and Sabock Challenge at Penn State on Saturday. Freshman Jennifer Mui was the only Bearcat to post a first-place finish at either of the meets as she took gold in the women’s 1000-meter event at Cornell with a time of 3:10.72. Capping off the top women’s performances in Ithaca, sophomore Jenna Chan posted a time of 8.74 in the final of the 60-meter hurdles and junior Mallorie Turner recorded a 35-5 1/4-foot jump in the triple jump event, both taking second overall.

The men’s side produced one top three performance on Saturday with junior Nick Malfitano taking second place in the long jump at Cornell with a leap of 21-3 1/4 which he replicated on all of his first three attempts.

The most notable performance at Sykes and Sabock came from senior Stephanie Cassens who ran a time of 1:31.99 in the 600-meter race. Her second-place finish earned her a school record in the event.

Next up, the Bearcats are set to take on the Dr. Sander Invitational Columbia Challenge hosted at The Armory from Friday, Feb. 4 to Saturday, Feb. 5. The meet is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in New York, New York.