Both the Bison men’s and women’s track and field teams competed this past Saturday, April 24 in their final tune up before the Patriot League Championships.

There were a number of standouts on both the men’s and women’s teams. On the track, Ashley Blair ’21 was a star. Blair took first place in what turned out to be more of an emotional race than was expected and nearly cracked an all-time Bison record in the 1500 with a time of 4:40.04. 

“This weekend was a great tune-up for the Patriot League Championships this weekend. I had the honor of running in a secondary event with my senior teammates (Kelsey Bordash, Sarah Bain and Kaitlin Ryan) who were running their last race,” Blair said. “The win was great, but it was definitely a bitter-sweet moment since I won’t be racing with some of my senior teammates again. The team has a great attitude going into this weekend considering last year’s competition was canceled. I think we’re all going into this meet trying to make up for what we lost last year. It should be a great weekend.”

Besides Blair, a number of other men and women earned a top four position in their events. Katie Phillips ’22 also landed on the podium, earning herself a second place finish in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:05.58. 

Dylan Pearman ’24 posted a dominant time in the 200, narrowly losing to Monmouth with a 22.96 time. Sam Lopes ’22 placed third in the triple jump by jumping 37-5. 

Dom Campagna ’23 finished third, narrowly beating his teammate Ryan Miele ’22, in the 5000 with a time of 15:37.08 over Miele’s 15:43.33. Matt Federovich ’24 also took a podium finish in the long jump, earning third with a 21-10. Sprinter Max Spaulding ’24 also finished third in the 400 hurdles with a 58.52. 

For the throwers, James Kelly ’21 earned second in the javelin with a 186-8. Robert Feeney ’24 finished fourth in the hammer with a 178-1. 

The men’s and women’s teams had a solid day on the track and in the field, gearing up for a redemption bout at the Patriot League Championship meet. After the Bison were stripped of a chance to compete outdoors last year due to COVID-19, this Friday, April 30 they are looking to take back what’s theirs.