Track teams keep momentum surging in meet at West Point

It is difficult for Megan Sullivan's voice to hold back her excitement. It's also hard to blame her.

Fresh off a historic cross country season for herself and the men's team, Sullivan and both track squads continued to build on their momentum with a strong showing at the West Point Track Meet in West Point, N.Y.

Sullivan captured two events to pace the women's team to the overall title, while Brendan Fitzgibbon was also a double winner in helping the men to a second-place finish behind host Army.

"It all went really well," Sullivan said. "We haven't done this meet before, but we knew it would be competitive. All of us pretty much ran our best."

Sullivan, who qualified for the NCAAs in cross country during the fall, captured wins in the 1,600 and 3,000-meter events with times of 5:03.47 and 10:22.3, respectively. The sophomore said the 1,600 might be her main focus as the season wears on, though this was the first time she had run the 3,000.

Stephanie Thomas, meanwhile, returned after missing last season and won the 800 in 2:17.20. Katie Atlas, Ellie Culp and Lisa Bell also added wins in the 1,000, 5,000 and pole vault, respectively. With a first-place finish in the 4x800, the women captured seven events and scored 174.50 points, outdistancing second-place Army by 17.

"We were just going out there to score points," Sullivan said. "It was great to get the win."

Fitzgibbon led the men by mirroring Sullivan with wins in the 1,600 and 3,000 in times of 4:15.13 and 8:32.21. The sophomore was joined on the victory platform by Josh Kommer in the 400, Bill Spierdowis in the 800 and Seth Benson in the pole vault.