Results
ROCHESTER, NY – Senior Brenna Johnson was voted the co-Field Athlete of the Meet and also earned the Empire 8 Torchbearer Award that combines athletic and academic success as she led the Nazareth College Women's Track and Field team to a second place finish at the Empire 8 Outdoor Track and Field Championships Saturday at Golden Flyers Stadium.
On Saturday, Johnson finished third in the high jump after winning the long jump Friday night for Nazareth. Her perfect 4.0 grade point average as a Physical Therapy major also earned her the prestigious Torchbearer Award.
St. John Fisher (202 points) won the team championship outscoring Nazareth (188) by a mere 14 points. Utica (135 points) was third followed by Houghton (60), Alfred (51), Hartwick (8) and Sage (6).
Nazareth had first-place points from three athletes as McKenzie Leahey won the triple jump with a final distance of 11.20 meters (36' 9"), Elizabeth Decker won the 800 with a time of 2:22.63 and MacKenzie Gilligan was the top finisher in the high jump as she cleared 1.55 meters (5' 1") with the fewest misses in the competition.
Gilligan added a fourth place finish in the 100 hurdles (15.81 personal best time) and Decker was second in the 1500 with a time of 5:00.20. Decker teamed with Johnson, Abbey Szumloz, and Isabella Heath to place second in the 4x400 relay in 4:04.99 and the relay of Johnson, Szumloz, Riley Norris and Hannah Ragule was third in the 4x100 event in 50.87.
Szumloz was sixth (15.98) in the 100 hurldes and second in the 400 hurdles while Ragule was eighth (1:14.13) in the 400 hurdles and second in the triple jump (11.16/36' 7 ½"). Heath was fourth (11.01/36' 1 ½") in the triple jump as well for the Golden Flyers.
Emily Weaver led four runners in the 5K with a second place (18:53.56 personal best time) while Lilianna Hanning (19:12.63) was fourth, Megan Morin (19:50.75) was seventh and Peyton Tripp (19:59.89) was eighth.
Weaver added a fourth place (5:01.99) time in the 1500 while Sydney Vanderhoof was eighth (16.55) in the 100 hurdles.
In throwing events, Lea Richard was fourth (10.55/ 34' 7 ½") in the shot put and seventh (31.39/ 103' 0") in the discus while Ally Criswell scored points with a fifth place (31.92/ 104' 9") in the discus.
Nazareth will host a Last Chance meet May 15 that will start at 1 p.m. at Golden Flyers Stadium.
