Men's Indoor Track and Field | 8/1/2024 10:13:18 AM
The Empire 8 Conference is celebrating the league’s 25th Anniversary season in 2023-24, honoring student-athletes, teams, coaches and administrators who have played a key role in the league’s success over the last 25 years. Empire 8 Men’s Track & Field has enjoyed several individuals and teams that have excelled at the conference, national and regional levels.
Ithaca College won 11 Empire 8 Men’s Outdoor Track and Field and 10 Indoor Track and Field Championships from 2004-2017. St. John Fisher University won three straight Empire 8 Indoor Championships from 2020-22 (four total) and has garnered three Outdoor Championships. Utica University has won four Empire 8 Outdoor Track and Field titles, including two in the past three seasons, while RIT combined to win six league titles before exiting in 2011. Nazareth University has won both the last two Indoor Championships and won the 2023 Outdoor title, while Stevens won the 2019 E8 Indoor Championship.
Ithaca head coach Jim Nichols was an eight-time Empire 8 Outdoor and seven-time Indoor Coach of the Year, while St. John Fisher’s Mike Henchen garnered six Indoor Coach of the Year and four Outdoor Coach of the Year. James Goss of Nazareth has earned the last two Indoor Coach of the Year accolades, while James Lemeiux of Utica has earned two Outdoor Coach of the Year honors in the past three seasons.
The E8 has had several multiple-time All-Americans in its storied history. Stephen Burns of RIT was the Empire 8’s first individual national champion, winning the javelin throw at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships. In 2016, Luis Rivera of Nazareth claimed the NCAA Indoor Championship in the weight throw. St. John Fisher standout Mark VanMarter won the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championship in the long jump, while teammate Peter Girardi claimed the 400-meter hurdles title at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championship.
St. John Fisher standout Kyle Rollins won four NCAA Championships in the high jump, claiming titles in the high jump at the 2019 and 2021 Outdoor Championships and both the 2022 Indoor and Outdoor Championships. He also is the lone E8 student-athlete to be named a four-time Empire 8 Indoor Field Athlete of the Year and three-time Empire 8 Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year. Most recently, Rollins nearly qualified for the 2024 United States Olympic Team, placing sixth overall in the high jump at the 2024 US Olympic Trials.
Below we are honoring members of the Empire 8 Men’s Track and Field 25th Anniversary Team. Recipients were chosen by the league office and were named either a Track or Field Athlete of the Year, Track or Field Athlete of the Empire 8 Championship Meet, three-time Empire 8 Individual Champion, All-American (relays included) or earned All-Empire 8 first team honors at least five times (over various events) in their collegiate careers.
Empire 8 Men’s Track and Field 25th Anniversary Team
Track
Kevin Alford, Ithaca
Greg Arabagian, Stevens
Matt Bango, RIT
Rashaad Barrett, Ithaca
Matt Battaglia, Nazareth
Nathan Bowers, Nazareth
Michael Cahill, Stevens
Shane Chiaravalle, Stevens
Dan Craighead, Ithaca
Tyler Deuschle, Houghton
Cade Eells, Nazareth
Fontana Fluke, Alfred
Andrew Ford, St. John Fisher
Nicodemus Gambill, Utica
David Geary, Ithaca
Peter Girardi, St. John Fisher
Stephen Gomez, Ithaca
Ira Griffin, Nazareth
Andy Hadasz, Utica
Mike Hardbarger, RIT
Sawyer Hitchcock, Ithaca
Drew Hodge, Ithaca
Andrew Hoover, Utica
Curtis Howard, RIT
Caleb Kasper, Houghton
Mike Kurvach, RIT
Jake Lafaver, Nazareth
Nate Lowe, RIT
Kaleb Luton, Nazareth
Eddie Mahana, St. John Fisher
Brandon Mallette, Ithaca
Matt Marion, RIT
Mitch Marlow, Utica
Chris Mastrosimone, Ithaca
Connor McCauslin, Nazareth
Alex Kainer, Stevens
Max Orenstein, Ithaca
Sylvester Owusu-Afriyie, Utica
Joe Pruckno, Utica
Jim Ravener, Ithaca
Daijon Richards, Utica
Shane Ruffing, Utica
John Ruggio, St. John Fisher
Billy Savage, Ithaca
Richard Scott, Alfred
Amann Sideeq, Alfred
Tom Sippie, Nazareth
Jimmy Sorel, RIT
Nick Stenuf, Nazareth
Grant Stokoe, St. John Fisher
Jeff Wetmore, Ithaca
Brendan Wheeler, Nazareth
Jesse Williamson, RIT
Nick Zickgraf, Stevens
Field
Andy Accardi, Stevens
Tariq Ahmad, Ithaca
James Aucoin, Ithaca
Andrew Brandt, Ithaca
Brian Branning, Ithaca
Stephen Burns, RIT
Sam Catterson, Ithaca
Sean Cochrane, St. John Fisher
Chase Corcoran, St. John Fisher
Devin Cornelius, St. John Fisher
Mike Dempsey, RIT
Kyle Devins, Ithaca
Khiary Gayle, Nazareth
Jusan Hamilton, Ithaca
Keanu Heedram, Utica
Mike Herb, RIT
Antwan Kelly, Utica
Kyle Koehler, St. John Fisher
Sean Locker, Alfred
Hunter Logan, Utica
Sebastian Luna, Stevens
Ross Mathewson, St. John Fisher
Chase Pecoraro, Utica
Corey Petermann, Ithaca
Jack Pomykaj, Nazareth
Eric Riley, St. John Fisher
Luis Rivera, Nazareth
Kyle Rollins, St. John Fisher
Shawn Ross, Alfred
Rayshawn Scott, Utica
Victor Servito, Stevens
Clarence Skipper, Utica
Kyle Sikes, Utica
Chris Stahlmann, Ithaca
Seth Spicer, Alfred
Ryan Squilacioti, Alfred
Alec Svoboda, Ithaca
Justin Swavely, Utica
Rob Tutein, Utica
Mark VanMarter, St. John Fisher
Brandon Vuolo, Nazareth
Brian Walker, RIT
Ka’Sean Watlington, Utica
Brandon Wheeler, Nazareth
Mi’chael White, Utica
Zuriel Wright, Utica
Founded in 1999, the Empire 8 has developed into one of the premier NCAA Division III athletic conferences, both on the field and in the classroom. The conference has created and implemented innovative and groundbreaking sportsmanship programming over this time, many of our which have received great publicity, including features in USA Today, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The NCAA News, and various athletic profession publications. The Empire 8 has also been highly influential in helping to shape the Division III landscape, passing many legislative proposals along with individuals who hold leadership roles at the national level.
Feature stories and series’ celebrating the league’s 25th anniversary will be highlighted on the conference's website and social media platforms throughout the 2023-24 season, starting in September. The conference will also be using the #E825 and #E8Anniversary hashtags on its Twitter and Instagram platforms as a way for fans to follow along throughout the year.
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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