HAMILTON, N.Y. - The Lafayette track and field team kicked off their indoor season today at the Colgate Pod Meet. Despite a strong effort to start the season, the women finished in third place with a total of 67 points, while the men also finished third with a total of 44 points.

On the women's side, the Leopards won three events. The first win came from Katie Ellmaker in the 400 meter run, crossing the finish line in a time of 1:05.16. Her winning time was over a second faster than the second place finisher, and scored seven points. 

The second win came from freshman Lily Dineen, placing first in the 800 meter run in a time of 2:23.18. This win from Dineen scored seven points for Lafayette in her first collegiate track meet.

The success of the Leopards continued in the 800 meter run, as they also finished second in the race. Katie Riley was behind Dineen, finishing in a time of 2:25.81. The second place finished added another five points for the women.

The final win of the day came from Annie Hathaway in the pole vault. Coming off a strong year last season, Hathaway started off fast again, taking home first place with a height of 3.20 meters. Her win scored another seven points for the Leopards.

Lafayette also turned in several other strong performances on the day as well. In her first collegiate meet, Sophia Dongaris entered the scoring sheet in multiple events. In the 60 meter hurdles, she finished fourth in a time of 9.91 seconds to qualify for the finals. In the finals, she finished with another fourth place finish in a time of 9.98 seconds to score her first four points as a member of the team. She continued her excellent start to the season by later placing fourth in the long jump with a top leap of 4.94 meters, good enough for another three points to her total. 

Dongaris was still not finished on the day however, as she also placed fourth in the triple jump with a top mark of 10.64 meters. This scored another three points and brought her meet total to 10 points on the day for the women.

In the high jump, Katie Ullmann finished third with a top mark of 1.55 meters to score another four points to the women's total on the day.

The throwing events also were a very successful group for Lafayette on the day. Grace O'Mara started the afternoon off fast, finishing second in the shot put with a top throw of 11.54 meters. This toss was good for five points for the event. Her day was not over yet, as she came back later to finish fourth in the weight throw with a toss of 14.22 meters. This scored another three points and brought her meet total to eight points.

Olivia Barney also found her name on the score sheet, coming off a very strong season last year. She finished third in the shot put with a toss of 11.43 meters to score four points in the event. She also factored in the weight toss, finishing second with a mark of 15.58 meters to score another five points. 

The distance events also brought some points to the afternoon for Lafayette. In the mile run, Nina Koobatian finished sixth in a time of 5:33.97 to score three points in the event. In the 3000 meter run, Lizzie Harmon also turned in a sixth place finish, crossing in a time of 10:55.84 to score two points. 

Capping off the scoring for the women, was the 4x400 meter relay team, finishing second in a time of 4:17.40. The foursome of Lily Dineen, Katie Riley, Alex Avery, and Katie Ellmaker lead the way, scoring five points in the event.

On the men's side, the Leopards won two events on the afternoon, both in the throwing events.

The first win came from Fischer Biggs, tossing the shot put 12.98 meters to take home first place. This top throw scored seven points in the event.

Right behind Biggs in the shot put was Andrew Swiniarski, finishing second with a best throw of 12.82 meters, good enough for five points in the event.

The final win came in the weight throw, where Swiniarski continued his dominance with a throw of 14.79 meters. This win scored another seven points, and brought his meet total to 12 points. Behind Swiniarski was Devin Rosmarin, finishing second with a best throw of 13.84 meters, scoring five points for the men.

Outside of the throwing events, the men also found success on the track. In the 800 meter run, the Leopards finished third and fourth. Ryan Murphy scored four points with his time of 2:02.84, while Andrew Massaro scored three points with his time of 2:05.63.

Sean Hamilton, in his first indoor track collegiate meet, also factored on the scoring sheet. His time of 4:32.47 was good for fourth place in the mile run and scored four points in the event. 

In the 400 meter run, Danny Hullihan finished third in a time of 56.53 to add another four points to the men's total.

Capping off the scoring for the Leopards was the 4x400 meter relay team, finishing second in a time of 3:41.68. The foursome of Ryan Murphy, Willie Marina, Andrew Massaro, and Danny Hullihan helped add the final five points to the scoring.