CORTLAND, NY – Backed by three events wins and two other runner-up finishes, the University of Rochester women's track and field team secured a runner-up finish at the All-Atlantic Region Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Thursday afternoon at SUNY Cortland.
 
The UR squad scored a total of 59 team points, ranking second among 43 teams that scored over the two days. 58 total teams had competitors in the field, with SUNY Geneseo bringing home the team title with 81 team points.
 
Senior Madeline O'Connell finished the meet as a double-winner, backing up her pole vault win on Wednesday with a 400 meter victory on Thursday. O'Connell led three Yellowjackets on the podium with a lightning quick 54.80 second run, a new personal-best and current #2 time in NCAA Division III this season.
 
Teammate Megan Bell finished fourth in the same race with a personal-best 55.81 seconds, and senior Kate Isaac also scored for the 'Jackets, running 56.54 seconds, another PR, finishing seventh. Both Bell and Isaac are inside the top-35 on the Division III performance list. Raquella Casserino also ran in the 400 meters, scoring in 18th place with a time of 59.63 seconds.
 
In the 400 meter hurdles, first-year Nora Chen was runner-up, adding eight points to UR's total team score. She finished the race in 1:02.05.
 
Rochester's only other points on day two were scored by junior Cora Rose in the discus. She finished in sixth place with a toss of 41.97 meters. First-year teammate Madison Vargas was 15th with a mark of 38.19 meters.
 
Rose, Vargas and Deziree Garrick also competed in the shot put on Thursday. Garrick led the trio with a 13th place result (12.09 meters). Rose finished 16th (11.43 meters) and Vargas ended 24th (10.90 meters).
 
Senior Alyssa Hoogs just missed a podium finish in the triple jump, ranking ninth in the field with a leap of 11.23 meters.
 
Sophomore Rita Sciortino was 27th in the 800 meters, crossing the finish in 2:26.49.
 
Classmate Julia Largett was 15th in the heptathlon with a new personal-best score of 3,558 points across the seven-event competition. Largett capped the overall event strong, finishing first among the multi-event athletes in the 800 meters, crossing the stripe in 2:26.08, a new personal-best.
 
Individuals highly ranked in events during the outdoor season will now await word from the NCAA about qualification to next weeks NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships. The national meet will take place in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina next Thursday through Saturday.