Women's Track and Field 5/23/2022 12:00:00 AM

Knights Take Home 13 All-American Honors at NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships

LIVE VIDEO
(DAY ONE | DAY TWO | DAY THREE)

GENESEO, N.Y. - A total of 19 SUNY Geneseo student-athletes will represent the Knights at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Geneva, Ohio at The Spire Institute. The championship meet begins on Thursday, May 26 and will continue through Saturday, May 28.

On the men's side, Kieran Sheridan will seek a season sweep of titles in the 400 after winning a national championship in the event at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships in March. He will join John Goldszer, Lance Jensen and Jason Rappazzo in the 4x400 relay as well. Jensen will also compete in the 400 hurdles while Ezra Ruggles will run in the 1500 and Nicky Andrews will compete in the 5000. All six men's competitors earned All-America status at the indoor championships and will seek to do the same this weekend.

For the women, the Knights will seek to repeat as 4x400 relay national champions as Gwen Shepardson joins Madison Mulder, Jenna Strickland and Anna Flaitz from last year's title-winning quartet. Shepardson will also compete in the 100 hurdles and 400 hurdles while Mulder and Flaitz will look to earn All-America status in the 400. Strickland will join Mulder, Laura Zopf and Kate Koutsourades in the 4x100 relay as well. Allyn Madden will join Shepardson in the 400 hurdles while Tess Duignan will run in the 800, Windsor Ardner will compete in the 1500 and Rachel Hirschkind will return for her second-consecutive steeplechase. In the field, Emily Salvemini will compete in the long jump while Katelyn Jacques will take part in the triple jump and Adriana Straughter will seek to become the Knights' second-straight hepathlon national champion after Emily Lavarnway won the national title a year ago.

DAY ONE

Adriana Straughter opened the championship, competing in four heptathlon events. She finished fourth in the high jump and sixth in the 100 hurdles to highlight a strong showing on day one. After four events, Straughter held in 10th place with 2857 points. Gwen Shepardson earned a berth in the finals of the 400 hurdles with a third place finish in the prelims. Windsor Ardner broke through for a third place finish in the 1500 prelims to advance to Saturday's final while Rachel Hirschkind took sixth in the 3,000 Steeplechase prelims to advance to the finals as well. Ezra Ruggles raced to a 14th place finish in the 1,500 while Lance Jensen took 14th in the men's 400 hurdles as well. The Knights' women's 4x400 relay placed second in the preliminaries to qualify for Saturday's final where they will look to repeat as national champions. The Knights' men's 4x400 relay also advanced to the finals on Saturday, finishing ninth in the prelims to clinch the last qualifying position.

DAY TWO

Six Knights competed on day two of the NCAA Championships. Adriana Straughter finished eighth in the heptathlon long jump but did not score in the javelin or the 800, finishing 21st in the event overall with 3,474 points across the seven events. In the 100 hurdles, Gwen Shepardson finished 13th with a finishing time of 14.59. In the men's 400, Kieran Sheridan finished in 47.73, placing 12th. On the women's side, Anna Flaitz took 13th in the prelims with a time of 56.85 while Madison Mulder placed fifth in 55.06, qualifying for Saturday's final. In the 800, Tess Duignan ran to a 2:12.95 finish, placing 12th. The Knights will resume action on day three, beginning with the women's steeplechase at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.

DAY THREE

A total of 11 student-athletes earned 13 All-America awards as the Knights ran at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday at The Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

Rachel Hirschkind earned All-America status with a fourth place finish in the women's 3,000 steeplechase while Nicky Andrews earned a seventh-place All-American finish in the men's 5,000. Madison Mulder and Gwen Shepardson each won two All-America honors, teaming with Jenna Strickland and Anna Flaitz to finish as national runner-ups in the 4x400 relay (Laura Zopf earned All-America honors as well after running in the preliminaries for the Knights). Shepardson also placed third in the 400 hurdles while Mulder also placed fifth in the 400. In the men's 4x400, Jason Rappazzo, John Goldszer, Lance Jensen and Kieran Sheridan garnered All-America honors with a fourth-place finish in the 4x400 relay as well.

The Knights finished seventh overall on the women's side, combining for 23 points, the top score of any New York institution and second-highest among public institutions in the event. The men combined to earn seven points, tying Ithaca and Lynchburg for 35th overall.

THURSDAY, MAY 26

WOMEN'S HEPTATHLON
Adriana Straughter

THURSDAY	PLACE (MARK)	POINTS
100 HURDLES	6th (14.55)	902
HIGH JUMP	4th (1.61m)	747 (1649)
SHOT PUT	21st (8.63m)	440 (2089)
200	14th (26.34)	768 (2857)
FRIDAY
LONG JUMP	8th (5.21m)	617 (3474)
JAVELIN	NS	(3474)
800	DNS
TOTAL		21st 3474