Svoboda Sets School and Meet Records to Help Bombers to NYSCTC Indoor Crown
ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men’s track & field team won its second New York State Collegiate Track Conference Indoor Championship title Saturday in come-from-behind fashion at Glazer Arena. The Bombers, who won their first crown in 2001, scored 139.5 points over the course of 21 events to claim top honors. Ithaca edged the second-place team by five points.
Ithaca had 20 individual and two relay All-NYSCTC finishes on day two of competition. The Bombers met eight ECAC standards and broke one meet record Saturday.
Head coach Jim Nichols and his coaching staff were named NYSCTC Men's Coaching Staff of the Meet.
Senior Alec Svoboda won the heptathlon with a school-record 4,695-point performance. Classmate Rad Arrindell finished seventh with 4,288 points. Svoboda, who also set the meet record, finished in the top three in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:46.25, the 60 hurdles in 8.95, the pole vault with a 4.05-meter clear and the shot put with a 10.89-meter heave. Arrindell finished in the top three with a 1.87-meter clear in the high jump.
The Bombers’ 4x400 team raced to a 3:25.38 finish. Sophomores Kyle MacKinnon and Mason Mann, senior Matt Kastler and junior Brennan Edmonds teamed together to win the event in an ECAC-qualifying manner.
Senior David Geary met the ECAC qualifier in both the mile run and 800 run. He placed third in both events. He clocked a 4:21.98 finish in the mile and a 1:56.63 finish in the 800.
Ithaca’s 4x800 relay team of Geary, senior Billy Savage, freshman Stephen Gomez and sophomore Dennis Ryan placed third in the event with a finish of 8:02.61 to hit the ECAC qualifier.
Ryan won the 1,000 run in an ECAC-qualifying 2:33.98. Freshman Stephen Gomez clocked All-NYSCTC honors with a sixth-place finish of 2:38.08.
Two Bombers met the ECAC qualifier in the 500-meter run. Senior Matt Kastler placed fourth in 1:07.07 and sophomore Mason Mann ran sixth with a finish of 1:07.46.
Junior Brendan Wilkins placed second in the high jump with a clear of 1.93 meters to meet the ECAC standard.
Three Bombers earned All-NYSCTC accolades in the 60 dash. Sophomore Rashaad Barrett was the runner-up in 7.14, classmate Kevin Davis placed fifth in 7.18 and junior Jake Willis seventh in 7.26.
Davis finished second in the 200 in 22.88, freshman Jeff Hejna was third in 22.89 and Willis placed fourth in 22.95.
Senior Nathan Bickell raced an 8:55.87 3,000 to place sixth and freshman Sawyer Hitchcock crossed the finish line eighth in 8:59.06.
Two Bombers earned All-NYSCTC praise in the triple jump. Freshman De’Marquis Graves placed sixth and senior Brian Maley seventh with marks of 13.11 meters and 12.90 meters.
MacKinnon finished eighth in the 400 dash with a time of 52.25.
The Bombers return to action on Friday and Saturday, March 1-2 at the ECAC Indoor T&F Championships at the Armory.
Complete Results