ANNAPOLIS, MD On a rainy first day of Patriot League Championship action, the Raiders were led by a freshman who jumped his way into the Colgate record books.
Cole Blair stole the show when he jumped 7.30 meters (23' 11 ½") to better the 58 year old outdoor freshman long jump record by over one foot and best the field to become Colgate's first individual champion in ten years.
Despite the unpleasant conditions, two other Colgate athletes advanced to the finals in their respective events. Senior Johna Joseph ran his season best of 10.94 in the 100 meters to advance and senior
Dillon Aryeh also ran his outdoor best time of 1:51.68 to advance in the men's 800 meters.
Several other athletes concluded their season with very strong or their best performances. Freshman
Ethan Eisner finished one spot out of advancing in ninth with a time of 50.02 in the 400 meters in his second fastest time of the season, but he will be back on Saturday running the 4 x 400 relay. In the 100 meters,
Jayden Jenkins ran his season best of 11.56; in the 400 meters
Dylan Wehrly ran his best in 51.49, and
William Crounse had his best performance in the 1500 meters in a time of 4:13.63. In the men's 4 x 800 relay the team bettered their indoor Patriot League performance and was anchored by senior
Alex Almer in his final race as a Raider. In the field events,
Nick Johnson threw his lifetime best in the hammer throw with a toss of 41.04 meters (134' 8") and will be back to compete in the discus tomorrow.
The women started the day off early as the 10k and hammer throws were the first on the schedule at 9:00am. In the 10k, senior
Sophia Manners finished 10
th in a time of 36:31.16. In the hammer throw, four Raiders competed with senior Maya Larosiliere ending her collegiate career with a lifetime best of 42.35 meters (138' 7") in 15
th place. Several other Raider seniors competed in their last Patriot League meet and finished strong.
Amanda Gollaher vaulted just under her personal best at 3.04 meters (9' 11 ¾") today and
Sarah Silverman ran 63.87 in the 400 meters.
Isa Cunio competed in both the 100 and 200 meters and
Rachel Schaaf bettered her indoor Patriot League long jump with 5.31 meters (17' 5 ¼") and will look to compete in her best event, the triple jump, tomorrow.
Other strong performances by the underclassmen were highlighted by sophomore
Carollin Mellin running her lifetime best of 4:42.92 in the 1500 and missing advancing to the finals by less than one second. Junior
Dominique Groguhe placed 14
th in the hammer with her stronger event the discus still to come.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Harlis Meaders
"We had a lot of really good things happen today at the meet. The most visible of course was freshman
Cole Blair winning the men's long jump competition. I was delighted to see everything come together for Cole and Coach Latham today. Cole has been working really hard and has had several big jumps going back to the indoor season where he was just over the board. Today everything was perfect and the freshman is the Patriot League Champ. Seniors
Dillon Aryeh and Johna Joseph have advanced to the finals and a number of other student-athletes have been at or near their best performances of the year.
On our women's program, we came just shy of advancing to the finals in several events, but we have competed very well. Sophia and Carollin ran excellent races along with several others. Maya had a lifetime best in the hammer throw. We have multiple opportunities tomorrow for more great performances and we are excited to get back to work."
UP NEXT
The Patriot League Track Championships will conclude on Saturday with track action where the Raiders will be competing in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays as well as the 5k, women's steeplechase, men's 100 meters and men's 800 meters on the oval. In the field, the ladies triple jump and discus will be contested as well as the men's high jump and discus.
