The Ithaca College women's track & field team finished the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships as the national runner-up with 41.25 points on Saturday, March 11, at the Al B. Carius Track, which was hosted by North Central College. It is the highest team finish in program history for Ithaca in either season of track & field.
The previous best finish for the Bombers at the national meet was a sixth place showing at the 2011 Outdoor Championships. Ithaca's indoor program never finished better than 11th, which occurred twice in 1991-92 and 2002-03.
Ithaca accumulated 41.25 team points, which was just 2.75 points shy of the national championship.
Over the course of the two-day event, Ithaca claimed three individual national championships. Junior Taryn Cordani won the 3,000- and 5,000-meter runs, while senior Katherine Pitman prevailed in the pole vault.
Cordani set an NCAA Division III meet record in the 5K with a time of 16:28.15, which broke her own school record. She then re-established her school record in the 3K in a time of 9:42.43.
Pitman posted another record-setting performance in the pole vault, as she broke the DIII meet mark at 4.18 meters (13 feet, 8.5 inches). The senior now holds both indoor and outdoor pole vault championship records, as she cleared 4.21 meters (13’ 9.75”) at last year’s outdoor championships.
The three national titles now run Ithaca’s all-time individual champions to 37, and Cordani becomes the 25th Bomber to win a national championship.
The Bombers also secured three other All-America honors at the national meet.
Senior Brandy Smith was the runner-up in the shot put with a school record performance of 15.21 meters (49’ 11”) and finished sixth in the weight throw at 17.81 meters (58’ 5.25”).
Freshman Beth Cripps tied for eighth in the pole vault with a mark of 3.60 meters (11’ 9.75”).
For more information on the incredible weekend, follow this link to athletics.ithaca.edu.
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20170312131611105