Ithaca Men Win Outdoor Track & Field Championship
The Ithaca College men's track & field team scored 183 points en route to winning its seventh straight Empire 8 Outdoor Track & Field Championship title on Saturday. The Bombers have won nine of the 10 championships contested in conference history.
Utica scored the most points ever and picked up its best finish in program history at the E8 Outdoor Championships, coming in second place. Sophomore Andrew Hoover was named Athlete of the Meet after winning the 400-meter hurdles and placing fourth in the 110-meter hurdles.
Nazareth freshman Brandon Vuolo earned Field Athlete of the Meet honors as he took first in the discus with a mark of 118 feet, 4 1/2 inches (36.08 meters), and he was 10th in the hammer with a toss of 110 feet, 9 1/4 inches (33.76 meters). Vuolo added a fourth-place finish in the shot put with a mark of 39 feet, 11 1/2 inches (12.18 meters).
The Bombers hit one ECAC qualifier on the day, winning the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 42.90.
Ithaca took the top two spots in the 200 dash with freshman
Jeff Hejna winning the race in 22.46 and sophomore Kevin Davis placing second in 22.53. Senior David Geary won the 1,500 run in 4:15.17 and freshman Sawyer Hitchcock claimed top honors in the 3,000 steeplechase with a finish of 9:46.65.
The Bombers had an additional four second-place finishes on the track and three in the field events. Rashaad Barrett was the runner-up in the 100 in 11.51, Dennis Ryan placed second in the 800 run in 1:59.03, junior Brennan Edmonds earned silver in the 400 hurdles with a time of 58.46 and the Bombers' 4x400 relay ran second with a finish of 3:30.90.
Junior Jarrod Monacelli placed second in the pole vault clearing 4.01 meters. Also finishing second, senior Brain Maley had a mark of 6.42 meters in the long jump and freshman De'Marquis Graves had a distance of 12.71 meters in the triple.
In addition to Hoover's win in the 400 hurdles, the Pioneers placed first in three other events. Senior Sylvester Owusu finished first in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.48 and freshman Rob Tutein and sophomore Kyle Sikes picked first place finishes in the high jump and pole vault, respectively.
Stevens placed third as a team with 95 points behind three first place finishes and three runner-up marks at the championship .
Leading the way was senior Sebastian Luna who topped the field by nearly eight meters in the javelin with a throw of 59.97 meters. Junior Michael Cahill also posted a first place showing in the 5,000-meter run in a time of 15:33.80.
Freshman Shane Chiaravalle collected the third top performer for the Ducks in the 400-meter dash with a final time of 50.14 seconds. Chiaravalle also finished fifth in the 200 in a time of 22.83.
St. John Fisher College racked up 82 points and placed fourth overall in just its second season competing at the NCAA Division III level in track and field. Sophomore Chris Wehner won the 110 hurdles with a Fisher-record time of 15.34 to earn 10 points for the Cardinals and junior Kyle Barry won the hammer throw, setting a new Fisher record yet again with a distance of 43.33 meters.
Alfred had two individual champions as senior Chris Lopez won the long jump (6.69 meters) and freshman Joe Duermeyer took first in the shot put (12.89 meters).
Nazareth freshman Khiary Gayle placed first in the triple jump with a mark of 42 feet, 8 1/4 inches (13.01 meters). Junior Jake Lafaver also recorded a first-place finish by claiming the title in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:57.17.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE
Team Standings
Ithaca, 183 points
Utica, 101 points
Stevens, 95 points
St. John Fisher, 82 points
Alfred, 67 points
Nazareth 52 points
Houghton 9 points