By: Kate Wiggins
The Canisius indoor track and field team has been quite active the past two weekends. Most capped off their season at the MAAC Indoor Track and Field Championships in New York City, and then selected runners headed to the ECAC/IC4A Championships this past weekend at Boston University.
On the first day at the MAAC Championships, there were several personal records to highlight. Junior Andrew Perreault ran a 4:14.85 mile to land a fourth-place finish. Senior Libby Benzer set a school record in the women’s mile with a stellar time of 5:05.59. Both Perreault and Benzer qualified for the finals. Junior Marissa Silba and sophomore Stephanie Seyfang both set personal records for themselves, Silba in the mile run and Seyfang in the 60-meter hurdles. In the 60-meter dash, sophomore Thomson Chew set a new school record with a time of 8.21 seconds.
On the final day, Perreault took a fifth-place finish in the one-mile run with a time of 4:13.99. In the women’s one mile, Benzer took 10th place with a time of 5:07.60. Senior Michael Peppy had a career-best time in the 3,000-meter run, crossing the finish line at 8:25.55. The relay team consisting of graduate student Turner Dirrigl, senior Richard Moore, sophomore Ronan McDonald and Perreault grabbed a sixth-place finish in the 4x800-meter relay.
At the ECAC/IC4A Championships, there were more personal records to come. In the women’s 4x800-meter relay, the team consisting of graduate student Leah Wardner, sophomore Katie Gawronski, Silba and Benzer finished with a time of 9:35.98, setting a school record in the event. On the men’s side, also setting a school record in the 4x800-meter relay, the team consisting of Dirrigl, Moore, McDonald and sophomore Kevin Board finished with a time of 7:44.33, earning a ninth-place finish.
For individual events, Perreault pushed his personal best time of 4:08.91 in the mile run, only the second person in school history to get under the 4:10 marker. Peppy and Junior Tom Appenheimer both set PRs in the 5,000-meter run, with the respective times of 14:29.36 and 14:29.51. Benzer wrapped up the individual events with a personal best in the 3,000-meter run, finishing with a time of 9:55.62.