The Bison men’s and women’s track teams hosted their first outdoor meet of the season this past Sunday. The meet marks the first time since 2019 that either teams have hosted and competed at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. Despite the less than favorable weather conditions of rain and high winds, both the women and men pulled out huge wins over their competitors from UMBC and Saint Francis (Pa.).

The Bison women finished first overall with 174 points, winning nine events wins that included several top 10 marks. Saint Francis finished second with 136 points and UMBC finished third with 61 points.

First year standouts Karen Hull and Madison McGloin posted impressive marks that place them within the top 10 marks for the program in their respective events — the 100m hurdles and hammer throw. Hull also placed in the high jump with a mark of 5-3 and anchored the 4×100 relay team that placed second.

Other first place finishers for the Orange and Blue included upperclassmen Maura Fiamoncini ’21,  Michaela Bracken ’22, Ashley Blair ’21, Alex Butz ’21, Delia Sipe ’22 and Karly Forker ’21.

Fiamoncini returned to competition with a comfortable win in the javelin (174) since her 9th place finish at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Bracken, with a time of 1:03.46, took the top spot in the 400m hurdles, which is just shy of making it on the program’s top 10 list. Bracken also placed second in the long jump.

Blair placed first in the 1500 and Butz added a top finish in the pole vault and a second place finish in the high jump. Sipe had a solid finish in both shot put and discus while Forker, the reigning Patriot League Athlete of the Week, earned a win in the 800m.

“It was awesome to be competing at home with some spectators this weekend. Our families have not seen us compete since the last winter season in 2019. Despite the pouring rain, I am really proud of how my teammates did not let the weather affect them mentally. The win over UMBC and Saint Francis was huge for us,” Butz said.

In a similar fashion to the women, the men’s track and field team decisively won the meet against Saint Francis and UMBC with eight event wins overall. Nicholas Marino ’21 posted impressive marks in the pole vault (16-0.75), comfortably winning the event. The Bison took first and second in the javelin, as Jordan Montero ’21 and James Kelly ’21 performed exceptionally well.

In his first time ever competing in the 5000m run, Samuel Whittaker ’23 was victorious, edging out the runner up Brendan O’Toole ’22 by just under a minute. “A lot of us had a tough start the week before, in the season opener meet, but this past Sunday we really showcased our talents. And proved to not only our competitors but also ourselves that we will be ready to score some serious points at this year’s league meet,” Whittaker said.

Other notable victories include Brendan Bodish’s ’21 win in the 400m hurdles, Riley Gardner’s ’21 narrow victory in the 1500m run and Rayven Sample’s ’24 win in the 400m run.

The Bison will travel to Lehigh on Saturday, April 3 for their next meet.