MARIETTA, Ohio (Jan. 20) – The Saint Vincent men's and women's track and field teams opened up the 2022 spring slate at the Marietta Pioneer Indoor Invitational.
The Bearcat men finished sixth in a field of 12 teams, while the SVC women took 11th out of 13 squads.
Joey Bujdos turned in SVC's top individual performance, placing first in a field of 13 runners in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:58.35, the top time in the event by a Presidents' Athletic Conference runner on the young season and a qualifying mark for the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Championship meet.
Bujdos was one of two Bearcats to place in the top five of the men's 800, as
Tyler Laughery turned in a time of 2:01.47 to place fifth.
The Bearcat women also were well-represented in the 800.
Sydney Green finished second with a time of 2:30.10, while teammate
Joy Pontzer also placed in the top half of the 18-runner field with a time of 2:44.89.
Tim Patterson shined for the Bearcats in the mile run, placing second among 20 runners with a time of 4:40.36. Teammate
Jeremy Capella also finished in the top half of the file, finishing in 4:53.78.
Both the SVC men's and women's teams saw strong performances in the 3,000 meter run. Patterson and Capella finished third and fourth, respectively, with times of 9:38.58 and 9:43.00, while
John Syms took seventh in the 18-runner field in 9:52.09 and
Joey Jafarace eighth in 9:52.99.
Alissa Beam paced the SVC women in the 3,000, placing fourth out of 11 runners in a time of 11:50.45. Teammate
Lauren Brennan added a time of 12:19.08.
The Bearcat men also participated in a pair of relays, with the foursome of
Cody Savage-Hicks,
Dammion Bundridge,
Devin Gleason and Jeffrey Downs turning in a time of 1:44.12 in the 4x200, while Bujdos, Laughery,
Collin Wilson and
Aiden Jackson placed second in the 4x400 with a time of 3:40.31.
Miranda Guthrie represented the SVC women in the sprint events, recording a time of 1:12.02 in the 400 meter run and 31.74 seconds in the 200, while
Jared Holmes owned the Bearcat men's sprinters' top performance with a 22nd-place time of 25.30 seconds in the 200.
Bundridge owned the Bearcat field contingent's best finish, taking 11
th in a 21-man field in the high jump with a leap of 1.75 meters (5' 8 ¼"). In the long jump,
Evan Ray's mark of 5.91 meters (19' 4 ½") was good for 12
th in a 27-man field, while Savage-Hicks placed 15
th at 5.86 meters (19' 2 ¾").
The Bearcat men and women will now have a two-week layoff before returning to the state of Ohio to take part in the Jim Wuske Invitational at the University of Mount Union on Feb. 5.
