Day One Results
 
TROY, N.Y. - Senior Allison Malatesta helped kick off the 2024 Liberty League Outdoor Track & Field Championships in a big way for the Union College women's track and field team Friday afternoon at Harkness Field on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, taking home the victory and breaking her own program record in the 3000-meter steeplechase as Union scored 11 points and sit in sixth after the first day of competition.
 
In the first event final on the track side of the championships, Malatesta took the lead with less than two laps to go and never looked back. The Niskayuna native raced to a blazing 1:25.90 in her final lap, the fastest 400 split amongst all competitors in the race, to crush her previous record by over 23 seconds and cross the line in 11:18.39, over five seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
 
Malatesta's season will continue in the event next week at the AARTFC Regional Championships, hosted by SUNY Cortland, qualifying with her 11:41.66 time two weeks ago and now previous best at the Trinity Invitational.
 
Junior Sundee Kroyer scored Union's other point on the opening day of competition, also crushing a previous best of her own, in the javelin throw, registering a 30.40-meter toss to finish eighth.
 
Classmate Lauren Armstrong finished right behind her in ninth with a 29.91-meter toss, and first-year Maggie Buckley scored a 22.18-meter throw, two more personal bests set for Union.
 
First-Year Ashley Sheldon began the day for Union by punching her ticket to the 100-meter hurdles finals on Saturday, timing a personal-best 15.73-second dash to set a personal best of her own and finish within the top eight to qualify for the finals. Senior Caroline Stanton finished second in the 400-meter hurdles prelims, timing a personal best of 1:07.09 to clinch her spot in the finals.
 
In the 100-meter dash prelim, junior Marley Froe raced to a 12.90-second time to set her personal best and qualify for the final Saturday afternoon. Junior Gabi Baker also qualified for the 400-meter finals on Saturday with her 59.64-second clocking.
 
First-Year Ava Partenza raced to new personal benchmarks of 13.28 seconds in the 100 and 27.17 in the 200, while classmate Epephanie LaBoy added a personal best in the hammer throw with a 31.64-meter throw.
 
Union's 4x100 group of Froe, first-year Kat Doran, senior Glory Moncion Allen, and Baker open action on Saturday for the Garnet Chargers at noon.