Track and Field competed at home in the Bison Outdoor Classic over the weekend, picking up 10 all-time marks for the record books in the process and setting one facility record. The Outdoor Classic is one of the top meets on the East Coast with the field including Power Four programs such as Penn State, Pittsburgh and West Virginia as well as some of the best Division II and III schools in the nation.
On Saturday, the first day of competition, the Bison found success early on in the shot put as Christine Ajao ’25 and Madison Fowler ’28 both found top 10 finishes and top 10 marks in the record books. Ajao tossed a mark of 47-03 feet for fifth place and fourth all-time, while Fowler went 45-05.75 feet for ninth in both the standings and record books.
Gabriel Pecaitis ’28 continued the Orange and Blue’s success in the invitational section of the pole vault, clearing 15-11.25 feet for second place and seventh in the history books.
The Bison also found great success in the distance events with Kerry O’Day ’28 running 16:55.53 in the 5000 meters, the eighth fastest time in school history, good for 22nd place. The duo of Trent Dinant ’26 and Ethan Pratt-Perez ’28 also blazed fast times in the 5000 meters, running 14:27.93 and 14:31.63, respectively, just a bit off the 10th fastest time in school history.
In the final event of the night, Henry Didden ’26 blazed the fastest 10000-meter time by a Bison since 1992, running 29:34.06 for second place. Didden was in 28th place after the first mile and 19th at halfway, but made his way up in the field, closing his last mile in 4:31. This mark puts him at seventh all-time in the Bison annals.
On Sunday, Aiden Tacker ’26 opened up the meet for the Orange and Blue in the hammer throw, tossing 196-02 feet for fourth overall and fifth furthest in school history. Fowler carried over her success from Saturday into Sunday and placed fourth in the hammer throw with a mark of 177-00 feet, sixth best in Bison history.
The duo of Evelyn Bliss ’27 and Brylee Tereska ’26 went 1-3 in the javelin with Bliss’ throw of 178-02 feet, breaking the previous facility record by almost two feet while beating second place by over 17 feet. Tereska’s mark of 155-07 feet places her among the best in the NCAA East Region at 29th. Continuing in the field, Elizabeth Bryant ’26 placed second in the pole vault, clearing 12-02 feet, the sixth highest mark in Orange and Blue history.
In the sprints, Alexandra Lea ’28 continued her stellar first-year season, blazing a time of 24.06 seconds in the 200 meters to take home the gold and claim the second spot on the Bison’s all-time list. Anna Posh ’25 cemented herself at 10th in the record books in the 400 meters with a time of 56.29, good for sixth place on the day. Brandon Foust ’25 found sixth place in the 100 meters with a time of 10.62, the wind (+4.1 m/s) being the only thing keeping him off the all-time list.
On Monday, the decathletes closed out the meet for the Bison with William Feddeler ’28 and Andrew Tandler ’27 placing fourth and fifth, respectively, with marks of 6105 and 6035 points, good for fifth and eighth in the Orange and Blue record books.
The Bison continue their season for the second week in a row at home as they take on the Bucknell Team Challenge on Saturday, April 19.
