Breaking a school record is impressive on its own, but doing it as a first-year in your very first collegiate competition takes it to another level.

At the Spartan Alumni Holiday Classic on Dec. 6, 2025, the Case Western Reserve University track and field team made a strong statement to open the 2026 season, led by first-year sprinters Gianna Phipps on the women’s side and Antonio Sidoti for the men. Just four meets into the season, Phipps has already shattered three school records while Sidoti has matched another—making it known that this team is not to be messed with this season.

Sidoti and Phipps are not your normal first-year sprinters. Historically, an athlete’s first year is a lot more focused on surviving rather than thriving. The transition to college, increased workload and tougher competition usually leads to a slump in an athlete’s first season or two, but these two first-years have defied all odds.

“Their exposure to track so far has been limited,” Head Coach Eric Schmuhl said when asked about the sprinter duo. “Antonio was a baseball player, then found track late. So his ceiling is very high, because he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know yet. Gianna, she knows she is gifted … she’s taking extra repetitions, and she wants to do [extra training] to make sure she’s hammering out the little minute details.”

On Dec. 6, 2025, Sidoti tied the 60-meter record (6.96 seconds). This result currently ranks him 17th out of all first-years in DIII. Despite the success, Sidoti expressed that balancing academics with athletics has been a struggle this year.

“The change to college life in general is very real,” Sidoti said. “Learning how to juggle both a rigorous school’s course load and the athletic side of things definitely takes some time to figure out.”

Sidoti credits the coaching staff for his success, noting that their guidance has helped ease his transition to the collegiate level and keep him focused on what truly matters.

“The amount of knowledge within the coaching staff is fantastic, because I don’t think I’ve ever had a question that has gone unanswered,” Sidoti said. “Not only have my coaches helped me become a better athlete, but they have also helped me become a responsible person by teaching me the importance of listening to my body when I need rest or to push harder in practice.”

As impressive as Sidoti’s campaign has been so far, Phipps has come out the blocks even hotter. In her collegiate debut, Phipps came 0.07 seconds shy of the school record in the 400-meter dash with a blistering time of 58.88 seconds. Despite the narrow miss, Phipps responded about an hour and a half later, breaking the indoor 200-meter record with a time of 25.88 seconds—a record that has stood since 2005. To end the meet, Phipps competed in the 4×400 meter relay alongside fourth-year Melanie Taylor, and first-years Elizabeth Crossan and Samaria Benochi, breaking the record with a time of 4:02.40.

Phipps continued her record-setting pace on Jan. 17 in the Spartan Icebreaker, breaking the 60-meter record in 7.90 seconds, a record untouched since 2016. Through just three events—the 60m, 200m, and 400m—she has already established herself as one of the nation’s best, ranking in the top 100 nationally in all three.

“I have realized that college is a place where the idea of ‘independence’ really shines, especially in athletics,” Phipps said. “Our success in the program is mostly based on our own initiatives and personal responsibility.”

Despite her accomplished start to the season, Phipps remains humbled and focused on the remainder of the season.

“Breaking a record actually opens up several questions, and perhaps the question most commonly asked is, ‘Now that I have hit this mark, how can I reflect and improve to perform better?” Phipps said. “Records are a reflection of my achievements and offer great opportunities for reflection.”

A defining trait shared by both Sidoti and Phipps is an overwhelming sense of maturity. In a sport like track and field—where you tend to get back what you put in—both athletes have shown a willingness to put in the work no matter what it takes, and it’s paying off early.

“It’s a nice surprise,” Schmuhl said. “I knew both of them were coming here, but I didn’t anticipate Antonio being this good this quickly. Both of them have been real pleasant surprises.”

These two sprinters are a sight to see, and are the new generation of CWRU track and field. See them in action at the Spartans’ next home meet, the Ed Finnegan Invitational, on Feb. 20.

Disclaimer: Adam Joseph is a second-year on the men’s track and field team.