Out of 38 total teams competing at the Colonial Relays in Williamsburg, Va. on April 4-6, the Bison women’s track and field team placed third behind Delaware and William & Mary. On the men’s side, the team placed second out of 38 teams, just behind the host team William & Mary.

For the women, the Bison proved their strength in the distance medley relay event, claiming first place. The team, composed of Ashley Blair ’21, Harper Stewart ’19, Tia Tardy ’21, and Payton Capes ’21, finished with a time of 11:44.12. This is the third best finish all-time for any Bison distance medley relay team.

“With some really good individual performances on Thursday and Friday, we created a lot of positive energy going into a day full of relays,” Blair said. “We were all able to completely focus on one another in the relays rather than our individual events. I really think that’s why we did so well. I’m super proud of my team and I think we had a really good showing against some competitive schools.”

In the 4×1500 event, the Orange and Blue took home fourth place with a time of 19:07.77 thanks to a team of Madeleine Hunt ’21, Lauren Hazzard ’19, Margaret Thomson ’19, and Jenna Farmer ’19. In the 4×100 race, Gi Macones ’22, Becca Rooney ’20, Michaela Bracken ’22, and Kaitlin Salisbury ’20 finished in eighth place with a time of 48.56. Meanwhile in the 4×400 event, Bracken, Rooney, Tardy, and Salisbury also took home an eighth-place finish with a time of 3:53.75. The 1600 sprint medley team of Shaylyn Fahey ’19, Alexandra Koumas ’20, Natalie Waterhouse ’19, and Tara Lyons ’22 collected eighth place with a time of 4:11.79.

In the triple jump, Salisbury placed sixth place with a jump of 38-5. In the shot put, Delia Sipe ’21 also earned sixth place with a throw of 43-7.75 and a throw of 144-01 in the discus to place in fifth.

On the men’s side, Matt Fay ’19 had an impressive individual performance, winning the pole vault event at 16-8.

“The meet was a lot of fun and the team performed very well,” Fay said. “We had some weather to deal with and we handled it, which is a good sign for meets to come. Now, we are all looking forward to our two upcoming home meets and hoping for some warm weather.”

In the 4×400, Steve Rizio ’20, Alex Dessoye ’21, Robert Dessoye ’21, and Billy Melchionni ’19 finished in third with a time of 3:13.61, picking up a total of six points for the Orange and Blue. In the 4×100 meter relay event, Ryquan Harris ’20, Jeff Brown ’20, S. Rizio, and Melchionni claimed fifth place for the Bison with a time of 41.83. Collecting a fifth-place finish in the 4×1500 meter relay was the team of Connor McMenamin ’21, Owen Chase ’22, Owen Concaugh ’21, and Brendan McGill ’19.

The sprint medley team took home a fourth place finish with a time of 3:29.73. The team was composed of Matthew Barton ’19, Brendan Bodisch ’21, Dessoye, and Sean Conway ’20.

In the triple jump, Reggie Harris ’19 leaped a 46-8 and Will Briggs ’20 threw a 152-05 in the discus, posting points for the Orange and the Blue.

Both the men’s and women’s teams will be hosting two consecutive home meets starting on April 13 with the Bison Outdoor Classic.