LEWISBURG, PA – Several individuals representing the University of Rochester track and field program competed in distance events at the Bucknell Bison Classic on Saturday and came away with some top performances at the mainly Division I meet.
 
Senior men's runner Scott Sikorski had the top finish of the evening, placing fifth of 82 runners in the 1500 meter invite event. The 2022 All-American in the event posted a career-best time of 3:45.07, the current number three time in Division III this season, also qualifying him for the All-Atlantic Regional meet next month.
 
Overall, five Rochester runners recorded regional performances on Saturday, including two in the men's 10000 meters. Nick Gaitanis and Vishal Yalamanchili both set new personal bests in the race, with Gaitanis finishing in 31:46.37 and Yalamanchili crossing the stripe in 32:15.86. Gaitanis ended 18th of 46 runners while Yalamanchili was 28th.
 
Nate Brunacini ended with a regional qualifying performance in the 3000 meter steeplechase in 9:41.31, placing 42nd overall in the event. Teammate Max Hughes ran 10:27.17.
 
Earlier in the day during the 1500 meter open race, Griffin Weiner ranked in the top half of the field, running 49th of 101 runners in 4:03.42.
 
On the women's side, UR's Kat Benninger was a regional qualifier in the 3000 meter steeplechase, crossing the finish in 11:51.27, placing 46th.
 
Later in the evening on Saturday, Zach Spergel ran the 5000 meters and finished in an AARTFC time of 15:14, with women's team member Sennett Turner easily hitting the regional qualifying mark in the 10000 meters, finishing 20th in the invite race with her time of 36:45.13, a top-25 NCAA Division III time this season.