Indoor Track Continues Strong Start to Season

The Canisius indoor track teams traveled to Houghton College on Saturday for the Highlander Invitational at the Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex. The Blue and Gold continued their strong start to the season as multiple Golden Griffins posted first-place finishes while three broke school records.

Sophomores Stephanie Seyfang and Walid Bibi and junior Sylvea Cleary all established school records in their respective events. Seyfang set a Canisius mark in the women's 60-meter hurdles, clocking in at 10.52. Bibi ran the men's 60-meter dash in 8.55 while Cleary beat her own school record in the women's 60-meter dash with a time of 8.79 seconds.

Libby Benzer won the women's one-mile run with a time of 5:13.61, which was good for her first win of the indoor season. Leah Wardner ran the mile in 5:26.16 to earn a fourth-place finish.

Benzer also added a second-place finish in the 3000-meter, crossing the finish line in 10:29.63. Junior Marissa Silba finished in 10:55.05 to take third place while sophomore Jules Jones ended in fourth place with a time of 11:12.85. Freshman Taylor Heschke finished the event in sixth place.

Andrew Perreault earned the Griffs another first-place finish in the men's one-mile. The junior led wire-to-wire, finishing in 4:23.25. Sophomore Collin Rice shined for Canisius in his one-mile debut, taking home a fifth-place finish and recording a time of 4:37.60.

Senior Michael Peppy and junior Tom Appenheimer did what they do best, crushing the competition in the 3000-meter run. Peppy finished first with a personal-best time of 8:40.53 while Appenheimer came in closely behind for the second-place finish. Appenheimer ran a personal-best time as well, posting a time of 8:43.81.

Bailey Pierce and Katie Gawronski continued their success this season, recording fifth-place finishes. Pierce ran the 400-meter in 1:04.31 while Gawronski completed the 800-meter in 2:37.11.

Both the men's and women's 4x800 relay teams secured first place on the day. The women's team of Heschke, Wardner, Chloe Breen and Silba ended with a time of 10:22.88. The men's team of Turner Dirrigl, Perreault, Ronan McDonald and Richard Moore finished in 8:23.05, 25 seconds ahead of the next-fastest team.

Canisius is back on the road Jan. 28-29 as it heads to Youngstown State for the YSU Mid-Major Invitational.

For complete coverage of the Canisius men's and women's cross country and track program, be sure to follow @GriffsRun on Instagram and Twitter.

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Players Mentioned

Tom Appenheimer: 5' 9"; Junior

Libby Benzer: 5' 11"; Senior

Walid Bibi: 5' 11"; Sophomore

Sylvea Cleary: 5' 1"; Junior

Turner Dirrigl: 5' 11"; Graduate Student

Katie Gawronski: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Jules Jones: 5' 4"; Sophomore

Ronan McDonald: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Richard Moore: 5' 11"; Senior

Michael Peppy: 5' 11"; Senior

Players Mentioned

Tom Appenheimer
: 5' 9"; Junior

Libby Benzer
: 5' 11"; Senior

Walid Bibi
: 5' 11"; Sophomore

Sylvea Cleary
: 5' 1"; Junior

Turner Dirrigl
: 5' 11"; Graduate Student

Katie Gawronski
: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Jules Jones
: 5' 4"; Sophomore

Ronan McDonald
: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Richard Moore
: 5' 11"; Senior

Michael Peppy
: 5' 11"; Senior