RESULTS

GENEVA, OHIO – The nationally-ranked No.4 Ithaca College women's track & field team opened up the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio with three strong performances, as senior Brandy Smith and junior Taryn Cordani won individual national titles and senior Katherine Pitman was a runner-up. Those three performances equate to 28 team points for Ithaca, which places the Bombers first overall after Day One.

Cordani put Ithaca on top of the team standings right off the bat with 10 points in the opening race of the championships – the 10,000-meter run. She claimed her third national title in 2016-17, as we won two events during the indoor season, with a time of 34:41.11. Click this hyperlink for a complete recap of Cordani's 10K title run.

Shortly after that, Smith became a three-time discus champion with a top mark of 48.91 meters. She is just third athlete to ever win three discus national championships in the event dating back to 1982. The full recap on Smith's spectacular feat can be viewed here.

The rainy conditions in Geneva, Ohio forced the pole vault championship indoors. Senior Katherine Pitman entered the event with the nation's top mark of 4.30 meters and was the defending national champion in the event, but Pitman came away as the runner-up at 4.10 meters.

Pitman entered the competition at 3.85 meters and was successful on her first run in each of the next six heights. She then attempted to clear 4.15 meters but was unable to clear the bar on all three runs, but still logged eight points towards Ithaca's team total.

The eventual national champion, Marissa Kalsey of Westminster, passed on 4.10 meters after getting back 4.05 on her third try. She then made quick work of 4.15 meters to lock up the title and then added to day by clearing 4.22 meters.

Freshman Beth Cripps also competed in the pole vault and finished 12th overall. Cripps cleared 3.80 meters, as did four other student-athletes, but she claimed 12th due to total attempts. Cripps began at 3.55 and cleared that on the first run. It then took her until the third try to move past 3.70, and she stayed in the competition on her second attempt at 3.80. Cripps bowed out at 3.90 meters.

Junior Denise Ibarra was the final Bomber to compete on the day, as she ran in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Ibarra finished 10th in her heat, and 17th overall, with a time of 11:07.13. She did not qualify for the final on Saturday.

Tomorrow, Smith is back in action in the shot put at 1:30 p.m., while junior Amber Edwards runs in the prelims of the 100-meter hurdles at 2:15 p.m.