AMERICA EAST CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAY 1
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Jane Leighton raced to All-Conference honors in the women's 3000-meter steeplechase to headline Vermont track & field on Saturday at the 2022 America East Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Frank H. Livak Track & Field Facility. The UVM women are in fifth place after the first day with 23 points. The men logged 11 points to sit in seventh place.
 
RELATED LINKS
Day 1 Results: Men | Women
CatamounTV Highlights
Photos
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"We had many reasons to celebrate today," head coach Matt Belfield said. "Jane getting All-Conference in the steeple for the second year in a row is fantastic. I thought Lauren had a tremendous first day of the heptathlon and also qualified through in the open 100-meter hurdles. Sonia and Bill were strong in qualifying and we had strong qualifying marks in the women's 400-meter hurdles too. Alex Siaton continues to run well, with qualifying marks in the 200 and 400. Zane Russom's javelin was very impressive, especially after battling injuries this season and throwing for one of his best marks ever. Everyone who scored some points, but also every teammate who helped them do it, makes proud to be associated with Catamount Track & Field. I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Leighton placed second in the steeplechase with a mark of 10:46.53. The senior finished nearly 20 seconds ahead of the runner in third place.
• Lauren Triarsi currently leads the heptathlon with 2,937 points through four events. The junior recorded top marks in the 100-meter hurdles (14.53s), high jump (1.60m), and 200-meter dash (25.82s). The Westfield, N.J. native also qualified third in the women's open 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.53 seconds.
• Bill Comstock placed third in the 800-meter prelims, with a time of 1:53.28.
• Sonia John secured a spot in the women's 400-meter finals, posting a qualifying time of 57.26 seconds. The senior also qualified in the 200-meter finals with a time of 25.00 seconds.
• Siaton and Alex Warner posted qualifying marks in the 400-meter dash, finishing with times of 49.04 and 49.64, respectively. Siaton's time of 21.75 seconds put him in tomorrow's 200-meter finals as well, running the second-fastest mark in program history.
• Three Catamounts ran qualifying marks in the women's 400-meter dash prelims. Mia Grasso led the UVM trio with a time of 1:03.14. Sophie Christopher (1:04.98) and Nejla Hadzic (1:07.09) also earned spots in tomorrow's finals.
• Hope Tyska qualified in the 1500-meter prelims, running a time of 4:50.71.
• Emma Wapshare placed fifth in the women's javelin, posting a mark of 39.84 meters.
• Sofia Wittmann secured four points for the Catamounts with a pole vault of 3.40 meters, to finish in fifth place. Carson Kopetz finished fifth in the men's pole vault with a jump of 4.20 meters.
• Zane Russom threw for 58.99 meters in his javelin return, finish sixth in the event.

UP NEXT
The 2022 America East Outdoor Track & Field Championships continue on Sunday (May 8) at Frank H. Livak Track & Field Facility. Day 2 begins at 9 a.m., with AmericaEast.TV coverage starting at 10 a.m. Tickets are available for purchase at UVMathletics.com/Tickets. Fans can also pick up tickets by visiting the Gutterson Fieldhouse Box Office, starting at 8:30 a.m. UVM students can receive free tickets to the America East Championships, courtesy of the University's President's Office. LancerTiming will have live results.