GREENSBORO, N.C. - The SUNY Geneseo women's track & field team collected three national championships on its way to a program-best third place finish at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday. 

Senior Emily Pomainville was crowned the national champion in the 1,500 while senior Emily Lavarnway earned the heptathlon national championship and the Knights' 4x400 relay team made up of Lavarnway, senior Jenna Strickland, junior Anna Flaitz and junior Madison Mulder earned a national championship as well. Geneseo finished the weekend with seven student-athletes combining for 11 All-American honors across both the men's and women's competition. 

DAY ONE 

SUNY Geneseo senior Emily Pomainville broke a 17-year old record to place first in the 1,500m prelims and earn a spot in the finals on Saturday. Pomainville finished the 1,500 in 4:13.69 to set the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships record, running the fastest time in NCAA Division III history. 

In the long jump, senior Emily Lavarnway placed third overall with a leap of 5.72m to earn her third career All-American honor. She also ended the day leading the heptathlon with 3,271 points through four events. Lavarnway placed first in the heptathlon 100m hurdles and the 200 to take the lead into the second day of competition.

Senior Matthew Sayre also earned his third-career All-American honor with a third place finish in the 10,000. Sayre finished the race in 30:15.04 to earn All-America status. 

The Knights' 4x100 relay team finished 11th overall with a time of 48.01 as senior Laura Zopf and Jenna Strickland teamed with juniors Anna Flaitz and Madison Mulder. In the 4x400 relay, Strickland, Flaitz and Mulder joined Lavarnway to place first in the prelims (3:45.48) and earn a spot in the final on Saturday. 

DAY TWO

SUNY Geneseo senior Emily Lavarnway set a new NCAA Championship meet record as she earned the NCAA Division III Heptathlon National Championship. A native of Ovid, N.Y. Lavarnway scored a combined 5,372 points to earn the national championship. Lavarnway began the heptathlon with a first-place finish in the 100m hurdles, finishing in 14.19. She added a third-place finish in the high jump (1.68m) and finished second in the shot put (11.62m) before closing day one with a first-place finish in the 200, crossing in 25.37. On Friday, Lavarnway placed first in the long jump with a leap of 5.80m, but fell to third in the overall standings after finishing 14th overall in the javelin (28.68m). Lavarnway rebounded to win the 800m run, turning in a 2:17.37 finish in the final event to regain first place and win the national championship. The title marks the 15th individual national championship in Geneseo program history. Lavarnway becomes the Knights' first heptathlon national champion in program history while her national championship is Geneseo's first since the spring of 2018 (Isaac Garcia-Cassani, 1,500m) and the first women's track & field student-athlete since the spring of 2017 (Alexa Wandy, Triple Jump). 

Pomainville continued her stellar showing with a first-place finish in the 800m prelims, crossing the finish in 2:10.18 to qualify for the finals on Saturday. Sophomore Madison Mulder earned a trip to the 400m finals after finishing seventh in prelims (56.18). In addition to her national championship effort in the heptathlon, Lavarnway also placed 10th in the 100m hurdles with a mark of 14.40. Senior Mariellen Penzer and sophomore Rachel Hirschkind finished back-to-back in the women's 3,000 steeplechase, crossing the finish in 11th and 12th, respectively. Sophomore Ryan Mitchell finished 13th in the men's steeplechase with a time of 9:38.78. 

DAY THREE

SUNY Geneseo senior Emily Pomainville capped her fantastic senior season with a national runner-up performance in the 800 and a national championship in the 1,500. Pomainville raced to a national championship with a time of 4:21.26, claiming the Knights' second championship of the weekend. Just over an hour later, Pomainville was back on the track competing in the 800 where she finished second with a time of 2:05.46. Junior Madison Mulder earned a fourth-place finish in the 400, setting a Geneseo record with a 55.15 finish in the event to earn All-American honors. Senior Joshua Feldberg finished 16th in the triple jump with a leap of 13.65m while senior Matthew Sayre earned his second All-American certificate of the meet with a third-place finish in the 5,000 (14:15.15).

In the final track event of the weekend, the Geneseo 4x400 relay team finished first, crossing the line in 3:43.19, but was disqualified from the race. Head coach Chris Popovici filed a formal protest of the result and after a lengthy review, the Knights were reinstated, earning the national crown. 

The Geneseo women's team amassed 49 points to finish third in the meet out of 71 teams to register a point. The podium finish marks the Knights' best result at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships in program history. 

GENESEO 2021 NCAA OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIP PARTICIPANTS

THURSDAY, MAY 27

Women's 4x100 Relay Prelims
11. Zopf, Strickland, Flaitz, Mulder 48.01

Women's 1,500m Prelims
(Q) 1. Emily Pomainville 4:13.69 NCAA DIVISION III RECORD

Women's 400m Hurdles Prelims
15. Gwen Shepardson 1:04.29

Women's Long Jump Prelims & Final
3. Emily Lavarnway 5.72m ALL-AMERICAN

Women's 4x400 Relay Prelims 
(Q) 1. Strickland, A. Flaitz, Lavarnway, Mulder 3:45.48

Men's 10,000m Finals
3. Matthew Sayre 30:15.04 ALL-AMERICAN

FRIDAY, MAY 28

Women's 100m Hurdles Prelims
10. Emily Lavarnway 14.40

Women's 400m Prelims - 3:00 p.m.
(Q) 7. Madison Mulder 56.18

Women's 800m Prelims - 4:00 p.m.
(Q) 1. Emily Pomainville 2:10.18

Women's 3,000m Steeplechase Final - 4:30 p.m.
11. Mariellen Penzer 11:22.21
12. Rachel Hirschkind 11:24.60

Men's 3,000m Steeplechase Final - 4:45 p.m.
13. Ryan Mitchell 9:38.78

SATURDAY, MAY 29

Men's Triple Jump - 10:30 a.m.
16. Joshua Feldberg 13.65m

Women's 1,500m Final - 12:25 p.m.
1. Emily Pomainville 4:21.26 NATIONAL CHAMPION

Women's 400m Final - 1:10 p.m.
4. Madison Mulder 55.15 ALL-AMERICAN

Women's 800m Final - 1:50 p.m.
2. Emily Pomainville 2:05.46 ALL-AMERICAN

Men's 5,000 Final - 3:25 p.m.
3. Matthew Sayre 14:15.15 ALL-AMERICAN

Women's 4x400 Relay Final - 3:50 p.m.
1. Strickland, A. Flaitz, Lavarnway, Mulder 3:43.19 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

Women's Heptathlon Schedule/Results