PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – It was a tremendous day for the University of Rochester women's track and field team, with one new school record, five NCAA top-25 times, eight champions and 28 All-Atlantic Region meet qualifiers at the Liberty League West Championships on Saturday afternoon at Fauver Stadium.
 
Overall, Rochester finished in second place in the team standings behind #2 ranked Ithaca College. Ithaca captured the league crown with 256 team points, with UR ending runner-up with 209 total points. RIT finished in third with 79 points and St. Lawrence completed the scoring in fourth with 70 points.
 
One of Rochester's top highlights was the performance of graduate student Jordan Hurlbut who set two new meet records and recorded NCAA top-20 times in both the 800 meters and 1500 meters. Hurlbut, the Liberty League champion in both events, finished the 1500 meters in 4:30.32, ranking #6 on the NCAA Division III performance list this season. Her time of 2:13.93 in the 800 meters is #20 in the NCAA.
 
Senior Michaela Burrell was a four-time champion on Saturday, winning two individual events and placing on two winning relays. Burrell individually captured titles in the 100 meters in 12.20 seconds and 200 meters in 25.12 seconds. The 200 meter time established a new meet record, while the 100 meter time currently ranks #21 in Division III.
 
The 4x100 meter relay team, consisting of Burrell, Kate Isaac, Kristin Hardy and Madeline O'Connell, set a new school record with a time of 48.61 seconds, setting a time which ranks #22 in Division III this season. Meanwhile, the 4x400 meter relay squad finished in a meet record time of 3:56.64, with those runners being Burrell, Hardy, Susan Bansbach and Eileen Bequette.
 

Both Burrell and Hurlbut shared the Track Performer of the Meet honors. Ithaca's Logan Bruce and Sam Healy shared the Field Performer of the Meet awards from the league champion Bombers.
 
Bansbach also had a terrific individual result in the 400 meters. The sophomore sprinter captured the league title in a time of 56.69 seconds, a regional qualifier and time that ranks #10 in Division III this season.
 
UR's other Liberty League champions were Kristen Lodato in the 5000 meters and Kari Leap in the discus. Lodato finished her race in a regional qualifying time of 18:06.54 while Leap's mark of 41.87 meters also qualified her for regionals.
 
Rochester accumulated nine other All-Atlantic Regional qualifiers from the track events, with two each in the 100 meter hurdles, 200 meters and 10,000 meters. In the hurdles, Bequette finished third in 15.52 seconds and teammate Ashley Heffernan was fourth in 15.64 meters. O'Connell placed third in the 200 meters in 25.92 seconds and Bansbach was fourth in 26.41 seconds. The 10,000 meters had UR's Rachel Dennis finish as the runner-up in 38:33.85 and Meredith Ackley end fourth in 39:22.90.
 
Other regional qualifiers on the track were Isaac in the 100 meters (12.81 seconds, 3rd), Hardy in the 400 meters (58.58 seconds, 3rd) and Elisabeth Rott in the 3000 meter steeplechase (11:39.43, 2nd).
 
The field throwers were just as successful for the Yellowjackets, adding ten AAR qualifiers in addition to the Leap victory in the discus.
 
Grace Messina had three qualifiers, reaching the mark in the shot put, discus and hammer throw. Messina finished third in the discus with a distance of 38.61 meters, fourth in the shot put with a distance of 11.24 meters and fourth in the hammer throw with a mark of 48.40 meters.
 
Gillian Reeder added three AAR distances, finishing fourth in the javelin (34.36 meters), and sixth in both the discus (37.09 meters) and hammer throw (44.08 meters).
 
Leap, Bequette and Alyssa Hoogs were the other field event regional qualifiers. Bequette was second in the javelin with a toss of 35.70 meters, Hoogs ended runner-up in the triple jump with a leap of 11.09 meters and Leap finished fifth in the hammer throw with a distance of 46.74 meters.
 
Rochester's next event on the schedule is the Roberts Wesleyan Redhawk Capstone Meet, set for next Friday afternoon. Qualifiers for the regionals will compete the following week at the All-Atlantic Regional Outdoor Championships on May 19-20 at St. John Fisher College.