NIAGARA UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – Two Purple Eagles qualified for finals on day one of the 2018 MAAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday at the Rider University Track and Field Complex.
Meet Marks
- Sophomore Akira Thornton and freshman Emma Bagnato each qualified for the finals in their respective events. They will compete in the finals on Sunday.
- Thornton qualified for the 100m with a time of 12.68, her collegiate personal record, while Bagnato set a school record in the 400m with a time of 58.35, breaking the record previously held by Mara Skordynski (58.45) set at the 2015 MAAC Championships, to finish fourth in the preliminaries.
- Thornton and Bagnato had decent times in the 200m prelims. Thornton finished 13th (26.41) while Bagnato placed 16th with a collegiate personal best time of 27.20.
- Nora Klinowski set a personal record time in the 1500m (4:53.00).
- Sarah Grubbs (2:26.49) and Erin Murray (2:27.13) each had season-best times in the 800m.
- Casey Leader ran the 400m hurdles in a personal best time (1:09.54).
Coach’s Corner
- “We’re really thrilled with how our team performed today. Having to pack three meets of the year into less than two weeks isn’t the ideal way we’d want our season to unfold, but the team’s tenacity and perseverance through this spring have served them well. Training in 35 degrees will toughen you up, but it will also bring a team closer together and we saw that today. Each individual accolade can just as easily be dedicated to the teammate that trained alongside and supported them. The freshmen performed with a lot of grace under pressure, and that speaks well of them as competitors, but also of the upper classmen that mentored them through the long training segment. We wrapped up the day with a batch of season and personal bests, in addition to a school record. We’re looking forward to finishing day 2 with as much success.” – head coach Christine Kloiber
Up Next
- The Purple Eagles will compete in the shot put, discus, triple jump, relays, and in the finals of the 100 and 400meters in day two of the championships.