Outdoor Track Shines at SUNY Geneseo Early Season Invite

The Canisius men's and women's outdoor track teams opened the 2022 outdoor campaign Saturday at the SUNY Geneseo Early Season Invitational in Geneseo, N.Y. The Golden Griffins put together a stellar performance, posting 15 top-ten finishes, including seven in the top five.

On the women's side of the competition, sophomore Maura Jordan earned a sixth-place finish in the 400-meter dash with her time of 1:01.44. In the 800, junior Marissa Silba and senior Libby Benzer both ran personal-bests with their times of 2:24.81 and 2:25.94, respectively. Silba placed ninth in the event, while Benzer came in close behind in 10th.

Benzer also set a PR in the 1500-meter run, crossing the finish line in 4:44.17, which was good for first place out of 79 runners. Silba ran a career-best 4:47.94 in the 1500 to secure a third-place finish for the Griffs. Junior Olivia Moran posted a 10th place finish in the event (4:57.59), while sophomore Jules Jones took 15th (5:00.12).

Freshman Taylor Heschke shined in her collegiate outdoor debut, finishing in third in the women's 5000m with a time of 18:21.89. Sophomore Katie Gawronski made her collegiate debut in the 400-meter hurdles, running the event in 1:09.78 to register a seventh-place finish.

On the men's side, the Griffs had a strong showing in the 1500, with runners securing third, fourth, fifth and sixth place. Junior Andrew Perreault crossed the finish line first for the Griffs with his time of 3:56.45. Senior Michael Peppy came in closely behind to finish the race in a personal-best, 3:57.69, which was good for fourth place. Fifth-year Turner Dirrigl knocked seven seconds off of his career-best time in the 1500 to take fifth place (4:02.22), while senior Richard Moore ran a PR of 4:03.93 to finish sixth in the event. Junior Tom Appenheimer finished the 1500m with a time of 4:06.25 to post a ninth-place finish out of 101 runners.

In the 800-meter run, Dirrigl placed fifth (1:57.93) and Peppy took home eighth (1:59.45).

Canisius will return to action next Saturday when it competes in the University at Buffalo Spring Opener at 1 p.m.

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

Turner Dirrigl: 5' 11"; Graduate Student

Katie Gawronski: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Jules Jones: 5' 4"; Sophomore

Maura Jordan: 5' 8"; Sophomore

Richard Moore: 5' 11"; Senior

Olivia Moran: 5' 1"; Junior

Michael Peppy: 5' 11"; Senior

Andrew Perreault: 6' 0"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Tom Appenheimer
: 5' 9"; Junior

Libby Benzer
: 5' 11"; Senior

Turner Dirrigl
: 5' 11"; Graduate Student

Katie Gawronski
: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Jules Jones
: 5' 4"; Sophomore

Maura Jordan
: 5' 8"; Sophomore

Richard Moore
: 5' 11"; Senior

Olivia Moran
: 5' 1"; Junior

Michael Peppy
: 5' 11"; Senior

Andrew Perreault
: 6' 0"; Junior