Men's Outdoor Track and Field | 6/4/2024 2:58:40 PM
The Empire 8 Conference announced its 2024 Men’s Outdoor Track & Field All-Conference awards on Tuesday, June 4. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches. Cade Eells of Nazareth University and Justin Swavely of Utica University repeated as E8 Track and E8 Field Athletes of the Year, respectively.
Eells, a junior, garnered his second straight Empire 8 Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year honor. Eells earned United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region honors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a season-best time of 9:03.01, breaking the Empire 8 record in the event, while earning a top-30 ranking nationally. Eells was named Empire 8 Track Athlete of the Meet at the league championship meet on May 3-4, winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a meet record time of 9:18.54, while finishing second in the 1,500-meters and third in the 5,000-meter run. Eells is the third student-athlete to earn back-to-back E8 Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year accolades.
Swavely, a senior, was named the 2024 Empire 8 Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year. For the second straight time. Swavely finished seventh overall in the javelin throw at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships to earn All-American honors with a throw of 62.64 meters. On April 6, Swavely broke a 16-year-old Empire 8 record with a throw of 63.54 meters and surpassed that on May 10 with a toss of 63.59 meters (208’ 7”). He won the E8 title in the javelin for the second straight season and placed third in the shot put at the league championship meet on May 3-4 and earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors in the javelin. Swavely is the fourth student-athlete to earn E8 Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year in consecutive seasons.
First-year standout Bennett Melita of Utica was named the 2024 Empire 8 Outdoor Track and Field Rookie of the Year. Melita, who was also the 2023 E8 Cross Country Rookie of the Year, was runner-up in both the 3,000-meter steeplechase and 5,000-meter run and placed third in the 10,000-meters at the 2024 E8 Outdoor Championships on May 3-4. He also set a program record and earned USTFCCCA All-Region accolades in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:15.03 at the All-Atlantic Region Championships on May 16. Melita is the second consecutive and sixth Utica student-athlete overall to earn E8 Outdoor Rookie of the Year accolades.
Utica head coach James Lemieux and his staff of assistant coaches Sam Catterson, John Hartpence, Joe Pruckno, Forest Stewart, David Brannigan and Zack Jones was named the 2024 Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year. The Pioneers won their fourth Empire 8 Outdoor Track and Field Championship on May 3-4 at St. John Fisher University. Utica’s depth throughout its lineup was evident, as 17 different student-athletes earned first, second or third team All-E8 honors at the league championship. It is Utica’s fourth E8 Coaching Staff of the Year accolade, all since 2016.
The Empire 8 first, second and third team all-conference selections were determined at the championship meet on May 3-4 from the Polisseni Track and Field Complex, hosted by St. John Fisher University.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2024 Men's Outdoor Track & Field Sportsman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.
2024 Empire 8 Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Award Winners
Track Athlete of the Year: Cade Eells, Jr., Nazareth (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca)
Field Athlete of the Year: Justin Swavely, Sr., Utica (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy)
Rookie of the Year: Bennett Melita, Fr., Utica (Johnstown, NY/Fonda-Fultonville)
Coaching Staff of the Year: Utica, led by head coach James Lemieux
Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year
Connor Scriven, Jr., Alfred (Peoria, AZ/Liberty)
Quran Best, So., Hartwick (Bronx, NY/Bronx Prep)
Sam Cobb, Fr., Houghton (Cortland, NY/Cortland Christian)
Jason Marchincin, So., Nazareth (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport)
Randal Johnson, Jr., Russell Sage (East Orange, NY/East Orange)
Trenton Wynn, Gr., St. John Fisher (Rochester, NY/Penfield)
Justin Valentin, Sr., Utica (Washingtonville, NY/Washingtonville)
2024 Empire 8 Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship All-Conference Selections
100-Meter Dash
First Team: Andy Hadasz, Jr., Utica – :10.78
Second Team: Ethan Kain, Gr., Utica – :11.18
Third Team: Mike Welch, Gr., Nazareth – :11.24
200-Meter Dash
First Team: Andy Hadasz, Jr., Utica - :22.04
Second Team: Ethan Kain, Gr., Utica – :22.79
Third Team: El Hadji Iba Sy, Sr., Russell Sage – :22.89
400-Meter Dash
First Team: Michael Puglisi, So., Nazareth - :49.40
Second Team: David Adadjo, Jr., Russell Sage – :49.57
Third Team: El Hadji Iba Sy, Sr., Russell Sage – :49.67
110-Meter Hurdles
First Team: Connor McCauslin, Sr., Nazareth – :15.28
Second Team: Aaron Lund, So., Nazareth – :15.86
Third Team: Trenton Wynn, Gr., St. John Fisher – :15.88
400-Meter Hurdles
First Team: John Ruggio, Sr., St. John Fisher – :55.83
Second Team: Aaron Lund, So., Nazareth – :58.16
Third Team: Avery Belanger, So., Houghton – :59.12
800-Meter Run
First Team: Gavin McAllister, So., Nazareth – 1:56.47
Second Team: Eddy Corporan, Fr., Utica – 1:57.71
Third Team: James Eustace, Jr., Houghton – 1:58.59
1,500-Meter Run
First Team: Amos Bixler, So., Houghton – 4:02.96
Second Team: Cade Eells, Jr., Nazareth – 4:05.83
Third Team: Ethan Kenyon, Jr., Nazareth – 4:07.87
3,000-Meter Steeplechase
First Team: Cade Eells, Jr., Nazareth – 9:18.54 (Meet Record)
Second Team: Bennett Melita, Fr., Utica – 9:27.45
Third Team: Ethan Kenyon, Jr., Nazareth – 9:41.39
5,000-Meters
First Team: Caleb Kasper, Sr., Houghton – 15:18.03
Second Team: Bennett Melita, Fr., Utica – 15:25.05
Third Team: Cade Eells, Jr., Nazareth – 15:31.25
10,000-Meters
First Team: Caleb Kasper, Sr., Houghton – 34:00.38
Second Team: Ethan Billings, Sr., St. John Fisher – 34:15.79
Third Team: Bennett Melita, Fr., Utica – 34:24.87
4 x 100-Meter Relay
First Team: Nyles Rogers, Jr., Andy Hadasz, Jr., Connor Dean, Fr., Ethan Kain., Gr., Utica – :42.38
Second Team: Mike Welch, Gr., Benjamin Lewis., Jr., Jack Pomykaj, So., Jaylen Savage, So., Nazareth – :43.01
Third Team: Brady Bishop, Jr., Brock Young, So., Ethan Fox, Fr., Trenton Wynn, Gr., St. John Fisher – :43.50
4 x 400-Meter Relay
First Team: Mike Welch, Gr., Jack Healy, Fr., Gavin McCallister, So., Jaylen Savage, So., Nazareth – 3:22.75
Second Team: Ethan Kain, Gr., Evan Smith, Fr., Tristan Vargo, Jr., Connor Dean., Fr., Utica – 3:26.03
Third Team: El Hadji Iba Sy, Sr., Dominic Harkness., So., Ethan Turner, Fr., David Adadjo, Jr., Russell Sage – 3:27.20
4 x 800-Meter Relay
First Team: Joe Cataldo, So., Kenny Williams, Sr., Cole Hastings, Fr., Gavin McAllister, So., Nazareth – 7:59.53
Second Team: Tristan Vargo, Jr., Evan Smith, Fr., Forest Martin, Fr., Eddy Corporan, Fr., Utica – 8:02.84
Third Team: Nathaniel Kulp, Jr., Riley Nash, Sr., Jace Stuart, Fr., Myles Andersen, Gr., St. John Fisher – 8:11.54
Pole Vault
First Team: Hayden Penna, Fr., St. John Fisher – 4.60 meters
Second Team: Jason Bletsko, So., Nazareth – 4.45 meters
Third Team: Jack Pomykaj, So., Nazareth – 4.30 meters
High Jump
First Team: Kaiden McCaskill, So., Utica – 1.94 meters
Second Team: Sean Cochrane, Sr., St. John Fisher – 1.94 meters
Second Team: Louis Pinto, So., Utica – 1.89 meters
Long Jump
First Team: Zion Baitey, Fr., Alfred – 6.85 meters
Second Team: Jack Pomykaj, So., Nazareth – 6.71 meters
Third Team: Dylan Fox, Fr., Russell Sage – 6.70 meters
Triple Jump
First Team: Zion Baitey, Fr., Alfred – 13.12 meters
Second Team: Kaiden McCaskill, So., Utica – 12.94 meters
Third Team: Noah Dueker, Fr., St. John Fisher – 12.94 meters
Shot Put
First Team: Hunter Logan, Sr., Utica – 16.39 meters (Meet Record)
Second Team: Billie Mays III, Jr., Utica – 14.14 meters
Third Team: Justin Swavely, Sr., Utica – 13.98 meters
Discus Throw
First Team: Jason Crocker, So., Alfred – 43.36 meters
Second Team: Hunter Logan, Sr., Utica – 42.34 meters
Third Team: Antwan Kelly, Gr., Utica – 40.03 meters
Hammer Throw
First Team: Brandon Kaplan, So., St. John Fisher – 55.82 meters (Meet Record)
Second Team: Spencer Borghardt, So., Utica – 52.40 meters
Third Team: Jack Bickford, Gr., St. John Fisher – 49.28 meters
Javelin Throw
First Team: Justin Swavely, Sr., Utica – 58.77 meters
Second Team: Kaiden Simpson, Jr., Russell Sage – 48.33 meters
Third Team: Tobias Jeralds, So., Utica – 45.73 meters
Decathlon
First Team: Jack Pomykaj, So., Nazareth – 5,954 points (Meet Record)
Second Team: Aaron Lund, So., Nazareth – 5,524 points
Third Team: Holden Thomas, So., Nazareth – 4,721 points
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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