Men's Outdoor Track and Field | 5/1/2024 9:32:55 AM
Alfred University, Hartwick College, Houghton University, Nazareth University, Russell Sage College, St. John Fisher University and Utica University will compete at the 2024 Empire 8 Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4 at the Polisseni Track and Field Complex on the campus of St. John Fisher. Action begins at 1:30 p.m. Friday and continues at 10 a.m. Saturday. Nazareth will look to repeat as Empire 8 Champions. The Golden Flyers emerged victorious at the 2024 E8 Indoor Championships in February.
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2024 Empire 8 Team Capsules (Order Based on 2023 Championship Finish)
Nazareth is looking to earn its second straight Empire 8 outdoor track and field title after taking the E8 indoor championship for the second consecutive year in February. The Golden Flyers enter the meet with a top-three league performer in every track event. Graduate student Kaleb Luton is a two-time E8 Champion in the 110-meter hurdles and is currently ranked 20th nationally in the event, while Michael Puglisi is the E8 leader in the 400-meters and teammate Jaylen Savage is right behind in second. Junior Ben Lewis will also contend for top honors in the sprint events. Luton, Connor McCauslin, and Aaron Lund are the top-three seeds in the 110-meter hurdles, while Lund is also second in the 400-meter hurdles and McCauslin is third. Cade Eells is the defending E8 Champion and current leader in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Graduate student Nathan Bowers is the top seed in the 10,000-meters and second seed in the 5,000-meters. He is also a two-time E8 Champion in both events. Ethan Kenyon is also a top contender in 1,500-meters and 3,000-meter steeplechase. The Golden Flyers are also the defending E8 Champs in the 4 x 400-meter relay. Jack Pomykaj and Jason Bletsko enter as two of the top three seeds in the pole vault, while Lund, Pomykaj and Gabe Wilson are top contenders in the jumps, while Lund and Pomykaj enters with the top two scores in the decathlon. Pomykaj is the defending E8 Champion in the event. David Dobrowolski and Declan Murray will look to score key points in the throwing events.
Utica will attempt to earn its second Empire 8 Champions in three seasons. Sprinter Andy Hadasz won the 100-, 200- and 400-meter events at the 2023 E8 Championship and will try to repeat in all three events this season. He enters the meet as the top-seed in both the 100- and 200-meter events. Ethan Kain and Connor Dean are also expected to contend in the sprints, while Tristan Vargo and Anthony Leotta will look for points in the middle-distance events. First-year standout Bennett Melita enters the meet as the top-ranked E8 student-athlete in the 1,500-meters (4:02.69) and 5,000-meters (15:06.25) and is second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Zachary Brown enters third in the 10,000-meters. Timothy Jeralds and Tobias Jeralds in addition to Jonathan Simmons will look to earn points in the hurdles events. As always, Utica has an incredibly deep group of throwers, who will look to score several points, led by 2022 Indoor and Outdoor All-American Hunter Logan, who is currently ranked ninth nationally in the shot put. He is the two-time defending E8 Champion in the event. Justin Swavely is the defending league champion, current E8 record holder and is ranked fifth nationally in the javelin, while Antwan Kelly enters the meet as the defending E8 champion in the discus and second in the hammer throw. Spencer Borghardt, Mark Brown, Michael McNeil, Billie Mays III, and Michael Rollins are among the current E8 leaders in several throwing events. Andrew Wieder enters third in the decathlon at 5,592 points, while Kaiden McCaskill is tied for the E8 leader in the high jump (1.96 meters), while Connor Dean is a top contender in both the long jump and triple jump.
Host
St. John Fisher is looking to regain the league title and earn its fourth overall championship in 2024. Sean Cochrane and Bryant DePaull form a potent 1-2 punch in the high jump, Cochrane is ranked in the top-55 nationally and first in the E8 and DePaull enters ranked fourth. John Ruggio will look to earn his fourth straight Empire 8 Champion in the 400-meter hurdles. Sprinters Brock Young, Trenton Wynn, Ethan Fox, and Brady Bishop will look to earn key points for the Cardinals. Myles Andersen is a top contender in the middle-distance events while former E8 Cross Country Champion Ethan Billings in addition to Jace Stuart and Riley Nash are expected to contend in the distance races. First-year Hayden Penna enters the championship with the top pole vault in the league at 4.63 meters, while classmate Noah Dueker enters third in the triple jump. Senior Matthew Stasiw has the fifth-best long jump in the conference to date. On the throws side, Brandon Kaplan is first among all E8 student-athletes and top-30 nationally in the hammer throw at 55.41 meters and is seventh in the shot put. Joey Curr and Bryce Grove will also look to earn points in the shot put and discus, while Jack Bickford enters sixth in the hammer throw and Cole Fuller is seventh in the league in the javelin.
Alfred enters the 2024 Empire 8 Championship looking to improve off a fourth-place finish in 2023. First-year Zion Bailey enters the meet as the Empire 8 leader in both the long jump (6.71 meters) and triple jump (13.43 meters). Bailey is also a contender in both the 200- and 400-meter dash events. Jason Crocker has top-five throws in both the shot put and discus. He enters the meet as the Empire 8 leader in the discus with a throw of 41.86 meters. Finnegan Dean enters with the sixth-best time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, while Alfred’s relay teams will be well represented at the championship meet as well. On the field side, Kenneth Berlin has the fifth best throw to date among all E8 student-athletes in the javelin, while Andrew Parnapy and Daimel Fowler will also look to score points for the Saxons in throwing events as well.
Houghton will look to earn a top-three team finish. The Highlanders have several distance runners who will look to score key points, including Caleb Kasper, Ben Allen, and Amos Bixler. Kasper is the defending Empire 8 Champion in the 10,000-meters. He enters the 2024 championship second in the 10,000-meters and third in the 5,000-meters. Bixler is the current Empire 8 leader in the 800-meters (1:57.94) and is second in the 1,500-meters (4:03.57). James Eustace is also a strong contender in both events. Sprinter Evan Kurtz is ranked second among all E8 student-athletes in 100-meter dash and third in the and 200-meters. Avery Belanger enters the meet ranked second in the triple jump (12.85 meters), fourth in the long jump (6.40 meters) and is also a candidate to score key points in both the 110- and 400-meter hurdles. Andrew Ryan is also expected to contend in the high jump.
Russell Sage is looking to continue its ascent up the E8 rankings. Sophomore David Adadjo is contender in the sprint events, which includes a ranking of sixth in the 400-meters, while Kaiden Simpson has the second-best javelin in the Empire 8 currently (45.50 meters). Dylan Fox will look to score points in the triple jump, while Randal Johnson will also compete in throws. Fox and El Hadji Iba Sy are among the contenders in sprint events, while Kyle Coyne and Stephen Fleury will compete in the hurdles. Iba Sy moved into fourth among E8 student-athletes in the 400-meters.
Hartwick will look to improve off last year’s finish in 2024. Sprinter Quran Best will look to score points for Hartwick in the 100- and 200-meters, while Luca Montesano will compete in the hurdles events. Jodi Johnson is set to compete in the 10,000-meters. On the field side, Quomony will compete in the long jump, while Marquis Jones-McKinney is a to earn points in the high jump. He enters the meet sixth in the event. All three relay teams will look to score points as well for the Hawks.
Current 2024 Empire 8 Outdoor Track and Field Top Performances
100-meter dash – Andy Hadasz, Utica – :10.76
200-meter dash – Andy Hadasz, Utica – :21.72
400-meter dash – Michael Puglisi, Nazareth – :49.31
800-meter run – Amos Bixler, Houghton – 1:57.94
1,500-meter run – Bennett Melita, Utica – 4:02.69
5,000-meter run – Bennett Melita, Utica – 15:06.25
10,000-meter run – Nathan Bowers, Nazareth – 32:41.25
110-meter hurdles – Kaleb Luton, Nazareth – :14.54 – (20th in Division III)
400-meter hurdles – John Ruggio, St. John Fisher – :57.46
3,000-meter steeplechase – Cade Eells, Nazareth – 9:23.59
4 x 100-meter relay – Utica – :42.47
4 x 400-meter relay – Nazareth – 3:24.92
4 x 800-meter relay – Nazareth – 8:23.62
High Jump – Sean Cochrane, St. John Fisher – 1.96 meters (6’5”)
Kaiden McCaskill, Utica – 1.96 meters (6’5”)
Long Jump – Zion Bailey, Alfred – 6.71 meters (22’0.25”)
Triple Jump – Zion Bailey, Alfred – 13.43 meters (44’0.75”)
Pole Vault – Hayden Penna, St. John Fisher – 4.63 meters (15’2.5”)
Shot Put – Hunter Logan, Utica – 16.89 meters (55’5”) – (9th in Division III)
Discus Throw – Jason Crocker, Alfred – 41.86 meters (137’4”)
Hammer Throw – Brandon Kaplan – 55.41 meters (181’9”) – (29th in Division III)
Javelin Throw – Justin Swavely, Utica – 63.54 meters (208’5”) – (5th in Division III)
Decathlon – Aaron Lund, Nazareth – 5,821 points – (35th in Division III)
For the most up to date information on this year's championship, follow the Empire 8 Conference on X (@Empire8).
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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