UTICA, NY – The Utica University's Women's Track & Field Team will host The Utica Winter Opener on Friday, January 17th at 4PM. The event will take place at Todd and Jenn Hutton Sports Dome and Recreation Center. 
 
Follow Along: For those unable to make it, live results can be found here.
 
Last Time Out: In the 5000m, Marlo Townsend (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) and Maria Stuhlman put together dominant performances, finishing in seventh and 11th place, respectively. The duo's times of 19:29.78 and 19:54.21 are good enough to put them into the top-10 all time in the event. In the 300m, Shiann Williams (Bronx, NY/Hydel) and Arianna McClendon (/New York Mills) dominated the podium going one and two overall. Williams ran a time of 42.68 which is good enough for third on the all-time list. McClendon's time of 43.09 is good enough for fifth on the all-time record book in the event. In the 3000m, Catherine Manna (Whitesboro, NY/whitesboro) and Jade Dening (Remsen, NY/Remsen) put together stellar performances, with Manna taking second in the event with a time of 11:04.00 and Dening taking fourth with a time of 11:04.94. In the pole vault, Amber Piersma (Cassville, NY/Mount Markham) had herself a fantastic first outing, vaulting over 2.85m and taking the top spot in the event. In the long jump, Nyasia Marsh (Westmoreland, NY/Westmoreland) leaped her way into the record books in the seventh slot, taking the top spot in the event with a 5.31m jump. 

Fielders Choice: At the Utica Holiday Classic, athletes competing in field events put together some fantastic outings. In the weight throw, Ranasia Bailey (Parish, NY/Altmar-Parish-Williamstown) made a toss of 12.41m to place tenth in the event. In the shot put, Riley King (Oswego, NY/Oswego) tossed a 10.54m to take home ninth place. In the triple jump, Nora Devitt (Beverly, MA/Beverly) continued her dominance taking the top spot with a jump of 11.17m. Sophia Bruce (Apalachin, NY/Vestal) took fifth in the event with a jump of 10.39m. In the long jump, Marsh and Devitt finished first and second in the event, with Marsh jumping less than 0.01 meter more than Devitt. In the pole vault, the Pioneers swept the top five with Piersma, Casondra Wood, Isabella Frick (Longmeadow, MA/Longmeadow), Jayle Leonard (Delancey, NY/Delaware Academy) and Molly Segatore (West Brookfield, MA/West Brookfield) each vaulting over two meters. In the high jump, Hannah Allison (Herkimer, NY/Herkimer) tied for second place with a jump of 1.54m, while Jada Anthony (West Nyack, NY/Clarkstown South) took fifth with a jump of 1.45m. 

Track Stars: The Pioneers put up some top performances on the track at the Utica Holiday Classic. Amelia Petersen (Fonda, NY/Fonda-Fultonville) finished eighth in the 60m hurdles with a time of 10.55. In the 600m, the Pioneers finished fourth, fifth, and sixth, with Caroline Young, Madalyn Haaf (Pompey, NY/Fabius-Pompey), and Emma Zacharewicz (Round Lake, NY/Saratoga Central Catholic). In the 400m, Lilly Messler (Washingtonville, NY/Washingtonville) put up a 1:07.23 to finish just outside the top ten. In the 60m, Marsh and Williams finished sixth and seventh, respectively, both with times under 8.30. In the 4x400m relay, the team of Marsh, Olivia Jense, Madalyn Haaf (Pompey, NY/Fabius-Pompey), and McClendon took first place with a time og 5:03.22.
 
Up Next: The Pioneers will travel north to take on the St. Lawrence Invitational, hosted by St. Lawrence University. Start time on Saturday, January 25 is set for 11am in Canton, NY.