RESULTS

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Ithaca College men's track and field team took advantage of some warmer weather when they competed at the Coach Pollard Invitational hosted by Moravian College across Apr. 17 and 18. There were season and personal bests across the board as the Bombers continue to gear up for postseason competition. 

The action started on Friday when the men competed in the Hammer and Shot Put throws and the 10,000 meter run. First-year Marco Lopergolo was the top finisher for Ithaca in the Hammer, with a throw of 40.69 meters for 19th place out of 46 athletes. Fellow first-year thrower, Avery Sens finished 13th in the Shot Put with a throw of 13.14 meters, his second best mark so far this outdoor season. The first day of competition wrapped with the 10K, where first-year Felix Farrugia made his debut in the distance, clocking a time of 33:33.84 for 9th out of 23 finishers. Farrugia closed hard in a 5:09 final 1600 meters, but narrowly missed out on the Liberty League qualification of 33:00.

On the second day of competition, the Bombers were led once again by senior hurdler/sprinter Matt Lokshin, who finished top five in both the 110 and 400 meter hurdles and competed on both the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relays. Lokshin, who placed top five in both hurdle events at the Liberty League Championships last spring ran a season best of 56.00 in the 400 meter hurdles after running a 15.41 in the 110 hurdle finals, finishing third overall, just an hour prior. 

Staying in the long sprints, the Bombers saw two sub-50 second finishes in the 400 meters, the first time this year that the Bombers have had multiple athletes clear the 50 second barrier in the same competition. Sophomore Damian Simmonds, who is no stranger to running below 50 seconds ran 49.78 seconds, a one second season best and his first time back under 50 seconds in the open 400 this season. Joining him was senior Ben Buffone who clocked a 49.55 for 11th overall. Buffone, who frequently is a member of the 4x400 relay for the Bombers, has not competed in the open 400 since 2023. Buffone who has one of the fastest 8k cross country times in school history demonstrated exceptional range today as he was the Bombers top finisher in the 400.

Buffone's distance and mid-distance training partners also rewrote their personal bests today, led by first-year Griffin Lupes who blew away his 4:16 1500 meter mark from earlier this season, running 4:05.17 to qualify for the Liberty League Championships, finishing second overall in the second heat. Senior Aidan Loughlin ran a three second season best of 4:10.41 in this heat as well. In the third heat, sophomore Kaiden Chandler finished second overall, covering the final 400 meters in 64 seconds to run a whopping 13 second season best in his season debut after dealing with both hip and shin injuries. First-year Brady Wortman ran a four second personal best of 4:17.02 to finish fourth and led the early portion of the race. 

First-year Sully Cook ran a 24 second personal best in the 3000 meter steeplechase of 10:29.35. This qualified Cook for the Liberty League Championships and also gave him a heat victory, as he closed hard to overtake John Tavani of Desales University on the final lap. 

In the short sprints the Bombers were led by first-year Anik Vossschulte and junior Max Boreland as the pair finished fifth and sixth respectively in the 200 meter dash, running 22.00 and 22.08. Boreland also ran a 11.04 in the 100 meter dash and the pair helped lead the Bombers to a season best in the 4x100 meter relay. They were joined by Lokshin and first-year Jacob Antilety, running a 42.57.

In the 4x400 meter relay, the Bombers ran three teams, running 3:25.02 for 8th, 3:29.98 for 15th and 3:33.64 for 20th, the first time this year that the Bombers had multiple teams under 3:30. The top squad which was Lokshin, Vossschulte, Simmonds and Buffone, were led by a 49.54 third leg from Simmonds. 

The Bombers will have a quick turnaround as they will be hosting the first outdoor track and field meet at Ithaca College in over a decade on Tuesday at the Egan Family Track & Field Complex starting at 1 p.m.