At the last stop before the 2024 MAAC championships, the Quinnipiac track and field team learned lessons and lowered its times at the Giegengack Invitational, hosted by Yale at the historic Coxe Cage in New Haven, CT.
The Bobcats made the most of the opportunity to tune up two weekends before the pivotal conference title meet in New York City, as head coach Carolyn Martin’s squad won three events and recorded at least one top-five finish in seven different finals.
“I thought we had a great meet,” Martin said. “They brought it today and we did have some really good competition and we got some great marks.”
The Bobcats were one of seven schools to compete in the Yale-hosted meet, as Brown, Princeton, Northeastern, UConn and Southern Connecticut were also present. It was the second half of a split weekend for Quinnipiac, who also appeared in Boston University’s Valentine Invitational the previous day.
Quinnipiac’s field team was in action first, headlined by 2023 MAAC pole vault champion Erin Brennan, who just set a new school record by nailing a vault of 3.55 meters at the Scarlet Knight Open on February 2nd.
Despite Brennan’s clean clearance on her first attempt at 3.50 meters in New Haven, three straight misses at 3.65 m abruptly finished her day at sixth place overall. Her chance to set another Quinnipiac record would have to wait for later.
“I want to self improve and get to be the best I can,” Brennan said. “The record, that’s cool and all, but honestly, I just want to see myself improve and see how far I can go.”
Quinnipiac hit its stride in the track events as the morning turned to afternoon. Leading the charge in the 3000 meter race was senior Liv DiStefano, who won her race with a time of 9:55.38, the only time of the eight competitor field to finish under the 10-minute barrier.
“Our expectation of (DiStefano) today was just to get a mark,” Martin said. “We just wanted to get a mark for the conference meet so she can get into the fast section. Hopefully that mark will get her in fast enough, but she’s capable of a whole lot faster.”
The Bobcats distance runners continued to impress in the women’s mile event, taking the top two spots in a field of 16 runners. The race was a spirited fight between sophomore Rachel St. Germain and senior Alessandra Zaffina, with both jockeying for position at the top of the pack.
However, it was St. Germain’s patience and stamina that allowed her to widen the gap in the end, as she clocked a 4:49.20, beating Zaffina’s 4:52.97 on the final straightaway.
“Rachel and Ali did a fantastic job today. I was pretty certain that both of them could go under 4:50 today,” Martin said. “They made the best of it, and they ran great races.”
Meanwhile in the women’s 60m sprint, sophomore Nyasia Dailey continued to push her limits.
Setting a new personal best of 7.58 in her preliminary heat, Dailey lowered her hold on the fastest 60m sprint in the conference this season by .03 seconds, compared to the time she set at last week’s Scarlet Knight Open. Now, the Middletown, CT sophomore’s best time sits .06 seconds away from shattering the Quinnipiac school record.
“It feels so good. I was not expecting all this to happen, but like, I’m honestly proud of myself,” Dailey said. “I continue to push and I’m glad to see where I’m at now, leading (the MAAC).”
The Bobcats capped the day off in an atypical meeting of the Battle of Whitney Avenue. The rivalry usually seen on ice, grassy diamonds, pitches and hardwood floor was played out on the track in the team 4 x 400 m relay event.
Quinnipiac’s team of Rylie Smith, Isabella Anzaldo, Sydney Lavelle and Elise Barricelli triumphed over the Yale Bulldogs with a time of 3:54.09 to end the meet on a high note for the visitors from Hamden, CT.
With the indoor regular season in the books for the Bobcats, Martin and her runners, jumpers and throwers still have work to do to prepare to compete for a MAAC title.
“It’s really just trying to fine tune some things. It’s really making sure they’re mentally ready, making sure they physically feel good,” Martin said. “ You know, we’ve yet to win a conference championship. We’ve gotten really close. This team’s hungry.”
While the cross country program has won the MAAC in two straight autumns, Martin will look to translate that success into the winter season at The Armory in New York on Feb. 24 and 25.
