Results: Men | Women
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – A total of 10 Catamounts were crowned champions of their events on Saturday as Vermont competed at the Bryant Black and Gold Meet in the first-ever track & field event at the school's new Track & Turf Complex. Both the men and women defeated Colgate, Bryant, and Siena but narrowly lost to Rhode Island in separately scored dual meets.
 
Senior Dana Gaetani was the 200-meter event champion as she crossed the finish line in 26.33 seconds, followed by classmate Maura Knowles in fourth (27.11). Gaetani also clocked in second in the 100-meter dash in 13.11 seconds.
 
In the 400-meter race, Lauren Trumble (1:01.02) and Hilary Rawding (1:02.50) finished in third and fourth, respectively. The duo also claimed second and third place in the 1500-meter event, as Rawding finished in a convincing time of 4:40.87 for second place and Trumble crossed in third at 4:47.44.
 
The Vermont women swept first through fourth place in the 5000-meter race. Veteran Amber Peirsol led the pack in first with a time of 17:42.97, followed by Anna Kaplan in second (17:56.03) and Samantha Sayer on her heels in third (17:56.03). Junior Mary Kate Cirelli claimed fourth overall (17:58.84), while Abby Hurd (18:07.87) clocked in for sixth and Julie Richer finished in seventh with a time of 18:12.66.
 
Elsewhere on the track, Mallory Honan finished the women's 100-meter hurdles in second place with a time of 15.44 seconds. Colleen Yancey also had a top-three finish as the sophomore took second in the 3000-meter steeplechase event (11:51.84).
 
In the field, Pearl Abiti was the top Catamount in the high jump as she cleared 1.52m for second, followed by Catherine Dominick (1.47m) and Katrina Brace (1.42m) in third place. Junior Grace Weisbecker cleared 3.15m to claim third in the pole vault.
 
UVM had four of the top-five finishers in the women's long jump, led by Honan in first place as she cleared 5.63m. Abiti cleared 5.24m for second, followed by Ellen Bridgman in fourth (4.97m) and Cassie Roberge rounded out the five clearing 4.92m. Roberge also captured second overall in the triple jump with a 10.78 mark.
 
Sydney Kurtic, Liann Simonds and Alana Eshbach went first, second and fifth in the women's shot put event. Kurtic cleaned 11.41m for first, Simonds followed in second place with a 10.78m mark and Eshbach took fifth with 9.62m.
 
Rookie Morgan Ferland threw a Vermont-best 38.03m in the discus and earned second place overall. Kurtic claimed third (37.93) and Muriel Adams posted a fifth place showing with a 34.68m throw. Nikisha Falcone made her Catamount debut in the javelin throw with a 33.65m throw for third.
 
On the track for the men, freshman Justin Liechty paced Vermont in the 100-meter dash (11.28) for second, edging out Romario Bailey by .01 of a second (11.29). Liechty also took second in the 200-meter dash (22.42) followed by Anderson Koenig in third (23.12).
 
Taylor Kracher was the lone Catamount in the 800-meter race as the freshman clocked in at 1:56.64 for second place overall. In the 1500-meter race, distance specialist Dan Moroney led the pack in first place as the senior finished in 4:00.26. Patrick Coppinger (4:02.10) took third and Allen Vance finished in a time of 4:03.62 for fifth.
 
The men also earned first through fourth place points in the 5000-meter race. Oliver Scofield was champion in a time of 15:03.27, followed by Thomas O'Leary in second (15:04.44). Fletcher Hazlehurst captured third place with a 15:07.41 mark and Nick Grudev crossed the finish line in 15:15.14 for fourth.
 
In the steeplechase event, Noah Bell (10:03.29) and Matt Ciminella (10:21.12) swept first and second place, while Will Lynch went on to win the high jump as he cleared 1.88m.
 
Elsewhere in the field, Ian Weider and Colby Cunningham earned first and second place in the long jump. Weider was crowned champion as the junior cleaned 7.18m, and Cunningham cleared a mark of 6.80m for second.
 
Ed Simon finished third overall in the shot put with a 9.86m throw and picked up a top-five finish in the discus with a 30.75m throw. Seniors Isaac de La Bruere and Steve Chevalier also had standout performances in the field for UVM. De La Bruere was the javelin champion with a 58.02m throw and Chevalier earned third overall in the hammer throw (45.66m).
 
Vermont returns to the track next weekend as it travels to Amherst, Massachusetts for the UMass Amherst Quad meet. Events are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.