Outdoor Track Finishes Strong at UB Spring Opener

The Canisius men's and women's outdoor track teams competed in the UB Spring Opener at UB Stadium Friday afternoon. The women finished in third place in the team standings with 70 total points, while the men recorded 52 points to take sixth.

For the women, five Golden Griffins finished in the top-ten in the 200-meter dash. Sophomore Maura Jordan paced Canisius with a second-place finish, crossing the finish line in 26.62. Fellow sophomore Anji Hvisdak and junior Bria Jordan followed closely behind, placing sixth and seventh with their times of 28.75 and 28.90, respectively. Sophomore Stephanie Seyfang posted a ninth-place finish (29.62), while junior Sylvea Cleary took 10th (29.75).

Jordan also raced in the 400, clocking in at 1:01.43, good for seventh place in the event. Grad student Leah Wardner took home 10th for the Griffs with a mark of 1:03.45.

For the second meet a row, Libby Benzer won the women's 1500. The senior recorded a time of 4:52.04 to take the top spot. Sophomore Jules Jones ran the race in 4:57.02, earning second place. Freshman Taylor Heschke and senior Bailey Pierce also finished in the top-ten, securing seventh (5:04.97) and ninth (5:09.15), respectively.

In the women's 3000-meter, Benzer crossed the finish line in 9:59.67 to finish in second out of 31 runners. Junior Marissa Silba was fourth (10:21.50) and junior Olivia Moran finished in 10th (10:39.72).

Sophomore Katie Gawronski posted a second-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles for the Griffs (1:08.04) and Seyfang took seventh in the 100-meter hurdles (17.56). Junior Rylee Campeau competed in the 3000-meter steeplechase, finishing in second with her time of 12:18.03.

On the men's side of the competition, the Griffs also had five runners finish in the top-ten in the 1500. Junior Andrew Perreault placed fourth with a time of 3:56.26. Junior Tom Appenheimer came in fifth (4:08.43), sophomore Collin Rice finished in sixth (4:10.70) and sophomore Ronan McDonald took seventh (4:11.61). Sophomore Kevin Board was 10th in the event, crossing the line in 4:13.75.

In the 3000, senior Michael Peppy ran an 8:31.65 to take home a third-place finish for the Blue and Gold. Peppy established a program record in the event, breaking the previous record by 10 seconds. Appenheimer finished in sixth (8:45.15), while grad student Turner Dirrigl ran the race in 8:49.37, securing seventh place.

The men's 4x400 relay team of McDonald, Board, sophomore Nick Dauphinee and freshman Alejandro Diez Santiago recorded a time of 3:48.40 to take fifth place.

Up Next
Canisius heads to Lewisburg, Pa., next week to run in the Bucknell Bison Outdoor Classic set for April 15-16.

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

Kevin Board: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Rylee Campeau: 5' 1"; Junior

Sylvea Cleary: 5' 1"; Junior

Nick Dauphinee: 5' 11"; Sophomore

Turner Dirrigl: 5' 11"; Graduate Student

Katie Gawronski: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Anji Hvisdak: 5' 4"; Sophomore

Jules Jones: 5' 4"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Tom Appenheimer
: 5' 9"; Junior

Libby Benzer
: 5' 11"; Senior

Kevin Board
: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Rylee Campeau
: 5' 1"; Junior

Sylvea Cleary
: 5' 1"; Junior

Nick Dauphinee
: 5' 11"; Sophomore

Turner Dirrigl
: 5' 11"; Graduate Student

Katie Gawronski
: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Anji Hvisdak
: 5' 4"; Sophomore

Jules Jones
: 5' 4"; Sophomore