LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Siena Outdoor Track began the 2022 MAAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships Presented by VisitNJ with a bang at the Michael P. Brady Track & Field Complex Saturday afternoon. Despite wet weather plaguing the event, the Saints were as hot as ever, boasting a pair of individual MAAC Champions, five total podium finishes, and one school record.
 
Junior and recently-crowned Siena Male Student Athlete of the Year Brandon Olden claimed the MAAC Men's 10,000-meter individual title for the second straight year, giving the Chestertown, New York native his third career conference individual title and second this season (indoor 3,000). Olden ran a time of 29:55.02 to win by 63 hundredths of a second and improve on his personal best, which sits at second in the program's record books.
 
Olden was joined by classmate Tommy Anderson in claiming a conference championship, with the Ballston Spa, NY product winning the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase event for his first MAAC individual title. Anderson's time of 9:15.71 was just under three second ahead of the second-place finisher, and gives Siena a program-record four MAAC individual titles during the 2021-22 season.
 
Siena's first of five podium finishes during the event's opening session also included a school record, with freshman Kayla Schmidt placing third in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:17.60. The mark surpassed the old school record of 11:18.29 set by Anya Schmitt at the 2019 MAAC Outdoor Championships.
 
Alongside Anderson, freshman Jackson Cayward made the podium in the steeplechase by placing third with a time of 9:19.40. Junior Nathan Poirier (9:45.55) took sixth in the event, while sophomore Jimmy Smith (9:54.16) finished tenth. Sophomore Katharine Hesler (11:42.35) placed seventh in the women's event.
 
The Saints also saw a top-3 finish in the women's 10,000-meter race, with junior Elaine Atanasova running a personal best time by over a minute to finish third. The Delanson, NY native's mark of 36:11.85 was good for third all-time in program history. Freshman Julia Caputo (38:41.95) finished tenth in the women's 10k, while sophomore Christopher DeForest (16^th), graduate student Aidan Canavan (18^th), junior Peter Alden (21^st), and freshman Collin Clinton (23^rd) also competed for the men.
 
The Green and Gold entered competitors in two events that held preliminaries Saturday, with senior Olivia Lomascolo finishing first in the 1,500 prelim with a time of 4:46.18. The Ballston Lake, NY native was joined by junior Delia McDade Clay, who finished fifth at 4:48.08, in qualifying for Sunday's final in the event. Freshman Claire Gardner (16^th), Isabella Painter (26^th), and Bella Kieser (34^th) also competed in the event.
 
The men's 1,500 preliminary race saw junior Matthew Laframboise earn the final qualifier spot, with the 12^th fastest time of the day at 4:02.76. The Rochester, NY native was joined by freshman Nathaniel Sletten (18^th), freshman Chris Bertola (19^th), freshman Luke Tkaczyk (20^th), freshman Noah Greski (24^th) and sophomore Patrick Fiorillo (30^th) in competing for the Saints.
 
Several Saints also competed in the preliminary rounds of the 800, with the women running freshman Keira Flaherty (24^th), senior Olivia Durant (26^th), senior Julia Bryant (28^th), and senior Shannon Bergin (31^st). The men's competitors from Siena included sophomore Griffin Cooke (1:58.92), freshman Nik Springer (2:02.02), and junior Ryan Famiglietti (32^nd).
 
Following the conclusion of day one, the Siena Men sit in third place with 29 points, while the women are fifth with 14 points, with five of 21 events scored in each. The 2022 MAAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships will conclude with a full slate of action on Sunday, May 8 beginning at Noon and airing on ESPN+.