Track & Field Rochester Meet Recap

By Ben Roach Last updated Apr 28, 2023

Nick Lyndaker won the Rochester 1500m with a time of 3:59.46. PHOTO CREDIT: SAINTS ATHLETICS

Edwin Fauver Stadium, the home of the University of Rochester Yellow Jackets, played host to Saints this past weekend, as the Saints’ men’s and women’s Track and Field teams journeyed to Rochester, NY, at the University of Rochester, to compete at the Rochester Alumni Invitational.

The meet took place on Saturday, April 22. The meet hosted 13 teams, of which the Saints men’s team placed fourth, and the women’s team placed sixth overall. Over the course of the meet, both teams experienced success, personal records (PRs), and Liberty League and Regional qualifying times.

Beginning with the women, Senior Haylei Coolican posted a massive new PR in the 5000-meter run, winning it in a time of 17:37.82, eclipsing her previous PR of 18:06 by just about 23 seconds. Right behind her was senior teammate Olivia Watson running a time of 17:53.85 (also a new PR).

In addition to these performances, first-year Kaylee Bertini also notched a second-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles, running a time of 1:08.92, just .87 behind the first-place finisher. This was also a PR for Bertini. Rounding out the top performances on the day, junior Allison Sibold, and senior Olivia Middleton each scored top-five finishes in their respective events—Sibold in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:20.31, and Middleton in the long jump with a jump of 5.21 meters.

As for the men, the meet was highlighted by four different event winners. Leading off in the 1500-meter run, first-year Nick Lyndaker won the event in 3:59.27, a PR of just about five seconds, only steps ahead of senior Jackson Hamilton finishing in 3:59.46.

This meet was especially exciting for Hamilton, as this was his first race back in about seven months since going out with an injury in the cross-country season in the fall. The race was extremely exciting to watch, as Hamilton made a hard push to the lead with about 300 meters to go in the race. Lyndaker went right with him, and both of them were shoulder to shoulder to the finish in an exhilarating race down the final stretch.

Hamilton running 3:59.46 after seven months off was quite a feat, given that it was less than three seconds off from his all-time PR of 3:56.68 from all the way back in May of 2021. It was a truly exciting day for Hamilton and the entire men’s team, seeing that even after a long hiatus, Jackson Hamilton was back.

Moving back to the other top finishes for the Saints, junior Michael Skutt took the 5000-meter victory in 15:05.62, just about a full eight seconds ahead of the second-place runner. Senior Eric Geir won the 110-meter hurdles in 15.06 to hold off Rochester’s Peter Brodnik. This was Geir’s fourth win of the season.

Rounding out the event winners was George Gowdy, who led the Saints’ contingent in the 10,000-meter run, winning in a time of 32:48.6. The Javelin also had quite a competitive field with freshman Eric Schneider placing an impressive third place with a throw of 44.87 meters. Sophomore Will Hauf also finished fifth in the long jump, scoring a Regional qualifying mark and a PR in the process.

All in all, the Saints had quite a successful day at Rochester, as they continue to tune up as they head into this weekend’s SLU Twilight Invitational, and then Liberty Leagues the following weekend.