Women's Track & Field | 3/4/2023 4:33:00 PM

MEDFORD, Mass. - Four school records were set and three victories were earned for the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's and men's track & field teams at the Tufts National Qualifier in the final opportunity to for student-athletes to gain spots at the NCAA Championship.

Junior Cory Kennedy ran the 5000 meters in 14:15.30 to not only break the RPI mark but also qualify for the national meet, which takes place on March 10-11. The announcement of the 2023 selections is Sunday evening. He defeated the runner-up by four seconds (14:19.62), while the Engineers also boasted the No. 5 (Mitchell Dailey), No. 7 (Vincent Simonetti), and No. 9 (Patrick Smyth) finishers in the 14-competitor field.

The women's 5000 also featured a record-breaking performance as senior Nia Goddard ran the race in 17:19.70, which is a strong contender for the NCAA Championship. She finished fourth in the field of nine.

Also setting new standards were both distance medley relay teams with the men winning in a time of 9:49.65 and the women earning runner-up in 11:53.18. Olivia Pisacano, Christine Mallette, Jillian Lees, and Morgan Lee made up the women's squad, while the men's featured Davis Piercy, Patrick Cavanaugh, Matthew Smalling, and Matt Lecky. Both Lecky and Lee made up ground on the opponents as the anchor legs. The women were three seconds off the pace (11:50.58), while the men won by .18.

Another who earned victory was Emma McGuinn in the 60 Hurdles, which she raced in 8.83 to outpace the runner-up by .08. 

James Zeolla had a second place finish in the pole vault with a maximum effort of 4.90 meters, Jason Gibbons ran third in the 3000 meters (8:19.85), and Yathin Vemula went 1.93 in the high jump for a fourth place finish. 

RPI had three with fifth place finishes in Cortez Garrett in the 60 Hurdles, Holly Lauzon in the shot put, and Josh Cohen in the weight throw.

The meet was non team scoring.