Cardinals start fast in track

April 06, 2008 04:00 am

— WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Toni Wiszowaty won the 1,500 meters with a personal best and an ECAC qualifying time Saturday to highlight a strong showing by Plattsburgh State at the Williams Invitational. It was the outdoor season opener for the Cardinals track & field team.
Wiszowaty won by four seconds in the time of 4 minutes, 44 seconds -- easily her best time at 1,500 meters. Teammate Allison Busby came in third in 4:50, also qualifying for the ECAC meet.
Shannon Young won the shot put with an ECAC qualifier of 11.51 meters.
Several Cardinals achieved State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) qualifiers. Joining Wiszowaty and Busby in the 1,500 were Alyssa Recny and Jen Modzel, who placed fifth and sixth.
Stephanie Adamczyk won the hammer throw, Mahalia Ewers finished second in the 400-meter dash in 1:01.84 while Brianna Cats, Emily McLoughlin and Jackie Boyea swept the top three places in the discus.
On the men's side, Doug MacAlpine finished second in the 200-meter dash and third in the 100 with both times good enough to qualify for the conference championships. Jeff Dobson won the 400 and came back to anchor the winning 4x400m relay with Charles Meyers, Jordan Bieber and Josh Mockus.
Dan McIlrath finished second in the 800 and Ben Jackson made his Plattsburgh debut with a victory in the 1,500.
Alex Sico was the first collegiate in the 5,000 meters with a time of 15:58, which is also a SUNYAC qualifier and a personal best. Freshman Schuyler Field continued a great first year with a win in the pole vault, jumping 4.11 meters, good enough to make SUNYAC's.
"Usually, in a season opener we try to use it as a rust-buster and put people in certain events they haven't done in a while, or just try to compete with newly learned methods or strategies," Coach John Lynch explained. "This weekend, we did just that and had some great successes. In my three years here, I can't remember an outdoor track season opening meet that went so well.
"Despite chilly weather and a soggy throwing area, our team was able to put it together today. There is definitely room for improvement performance-wise, but I am very proud of how competitive we were today. For us to come out in a season opener and compete in every event across the board really impressed me."