Women's Track & Field | 2/23/2018 6:15:00 PM

CANTON, NY -- The RIT women's indoor track and field team placed third at the 2018 Liberty League Indoor Track and Field Championships hosted by St. Lawrence University on Feb. 23-24. RIT, the defending Liberty League champions, placed third out of six teams with a score of 122 points. Ithaca College won the title with a score of 241 points, while the University of Rochester placed second, just ahead of RIT with 128.

On Saturday, RIT broke a four-year old school record as the 4x400-meter relay team of Harley Wilson (Bel Air, MD/Bel Air), Emily Bernabeo (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West), Becca Schwan (LeRoy, NY/LeRoy) and Marissa Dispenza (Batavia, NY/Batavia) won the 4:02.66, breaking the old record of 4:06.11, set in 2014. Schwan also brought home her second straight Liberty League title in the 800-meters, winning the event in a personal-best time of 2:16.10. That is also among the top-30 fastest times in Division III this season.

Friday, the Tigers won a relay event and a pair of individual events . The distance medley relay team of Schwan, Wilson, Alexis Scott (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) and Jennifer Crossen (Bason, NY/Oakfield-Alabama) won the event in a time of 12:35.62 to earn 10 points for the Tigers. In field events, Houghtling and Madeline Pizzo (Irondequoit, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) picked up victories. Houghtling won the long jump with a leap of 5.28 meters, while teammate Marissa Shaw (Belchertown, MA/Belchertown ) was fourth. Pizzo won the shot put with a throw of 12.36 meters. 

RIT picked up 10 points with a third and fifth place finish in the 400-meter dash. Wilson placed third in a time of 1:01.53, while Dispenza placed fifth in a time of 1:02.14. Scott placed sixth in the mile finishing in a time of 5:21.68 to pick up three points. Crossen was seventh overall in the 3,000-meters Saturday (10:27.62).

Kelly Abunaw and Emily Young (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) finished in the top-eight in the 200-meter dash. Abunaw placed third overall, finishing in a time of 26.74, while Young was seventh, crossing the finish line in 27.42. The duo also placed third and seventh, respectively in the 60-meter dash. Abunaw placed third (8.10), while Young finished seventh (8.37). Dispenza placed fourth in the 60-meter hurdles (9.65), while Julie McGlensey (Lewisburg, PA/Lewisburg) finished sixth (9.77).

Kaplan placed second in the pole vault with a vault of 3.37 meters. Madeline Pizzo (Irondequoit, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) was sixth (3.22 meters). RIT had three of the top-six finishers in the triple jump. Colleen Eckl (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon) and Kathryn Vogl (West Seneca, NY/St. Mary's) both had leaps of 10.65 meters. Eckl placed third, while Vogl was fourth. Houghtling was right behind in sixth with a jump of 10.56 meters.

RIT returns to action on Friday, March 2 when the Tigers begin competition in the NCAA Atlantic Regional hosted by Ithaca College.