Men's Indoor Track and Field | 3/25/2025 9:58:55 AM
The Empire 8 Conference announced its 2024-25 Men’s Indoor Track & Field All-Conference awards on Tuesday, March 25. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Senior Jonathan Zavala of SUNY Brockport was named the 2024-25 Empire 8 Indoor Field Athlete of the Year., Zavala, a native of Montgomery, NY, earned runner-up honors in the mile at the 2025 NCAA Division III Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championship, crossing the finish line in an Empire 8 record time of 4:06.48 to earn First Team All-American honors. He was named the 2025 Empire 8 Indoor Track Championship Field Athlete of the Meet after winning both the 800-meters and mile run in E8 Championship record times, while helping the SUNY Brockport 4 x 400-meter relay team earn runner-up honors. Zavala set E8 Championship records with a time of 1:53.85 in the 800-meters and 4:10.28 in the mile. Zavala was also a USTFCCCA All-Niagara Region selection in both the 800-meters and mile.
Sophomore Manuel Sepulveda of St. John Fisher University was named the 2024-25 Empire 8 Indoor Field Athlete of the Year. Sepulveda, a native of East Rochester, NY, earned NCAA First Team All-American honors in the triple jump, clearing 14.89 meters to finish seventh at the NCAA Championships and garnered Second Team All-American accolades in the long jump. Sepulveda was the 2025 Empire 8 Indoor Champion in both the triple jump and long jump. His leap of 14.97 meters in the triple broke both the E8 Championship and all-time league mark. Sepulveda recorded a winning leap of 7.19 meters to win the E8 long jump title. He is the fifth St. John Fisher student-athlete to earn E8 Indoor Field Athlete of the Year accolades.
SUNY Geneseo’s Jack Towns was named the 2024-25 Empire 8 Indoor Track & Field Rookie of the Year. Towns, who hails from Whitesboro, NY, enjoyed a tremendous debut for the Knights, winning the 200-meter dash at the E8 Championship, in a time of 22.04 seconds. He also recorded a season-best time of 48.89 seconds in the 400-meters at Boston University in February. Towns also earned USTFCCCA All-Niagara Region honors in the 200-meters and finished the season ranked 44th nationally in the event.
SUNY Geneseo head coach Chris Popovici and his staff of assistant coaches Dan Moore, Christian Johnson and Kyle Rollins was named the 2024-25 Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year. The Knights won their first Empire 8 Indoor Track & Field Championship in decisive fashion. Overall, Geneseo had 18 different student-athletes earn All-Conference honors, while Jacob Miller earned NCAA First Team All-American honors in the 400-meter dash, placing seventh at nationals. The Knights shattered three E8 Indoor Track and Field Championship records and four overall league marks in 2024-25.
The Empire 8 first, second and third team all-conference selections were determined at the championship meet on Feb. 28-March 1 from the Todd and Jen Hutton Sports and Recreation Center, hosted by Utica University.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2024-25 Men's Indoor 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.
2024-25 Empire 8 Men’s Indoor Track & Field Award Winners
Track Athlete of the Year: Jonathan Zavala, Sr., SUNY Brockport
Field Athlete of the Year: Manuel Sepulveda, So., St. John Fisher
Rookie of the Year: Jack Towns, Fr., SUNY Geneseo
Coaching Staff of the Year: SUNY Geneseo, led by head coach Chris Popovici
Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year
Jonathan Hodges, Fr., Alfred (Kenmore, NY/Kenmore West)
Jeremy Chen, Jr., SUNY Brockport (Latham, NY/Shaker)
Brendan Style, Sr., SUNY Geneseo (Bayport, NY/Bayport-Blue Point)
Cody Bazemore, Fr., Hartwick (Bel Air, MD/Bel Air)
Andrew Ryan, Jr., Houghton (Clymer, NY/Homeschool)
David Dobrowolski, So., Nazareth (Baldwinsville, NY/CW Baker)
Chris Pellegrini, Jr., Russell Sage (Loudonville, NY/Colonie)
Hayden Penna, So., St. John Fisher (Hilton, NY/Hilton)
Billie Mays III, Sr., Utica (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy)
2024-25 Empire 8 Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championship All-Conference Selections
60-Meter Dash
First Team: Derek Grimshaw, So., SUNY Brockport – :6.95
Second Team: Bergen Caprood, Fr., SUNY Geneseo – :7.00
Third Team: Evan Kurtz, Sr., Houghton – :7.01
60-Meter Hurdles
First Team: Brendan Style, Sr., SUNY Geneseo – :8.30
Second Team: Jeremy Chen, Jr., SUNY Brockport – :8.46
Third Team: Kevin Brown, Fr., SUNY Brockport – :8.53
200-Meter Dash
First Team: Jack Towns, Fr., SUNY Geneseo – :22.04
Second Team: Tanner Warren, So., Utica – :22.16
Third Team: Michael Durski, So., SUNY Brockport – :22.26
400-Meter Dash
First Team: Jacob Miller, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – :48.27 (Championship Record)
Second Team: Sam Belmont, So., SUNY Geneseo – :49.50
Third Team: Ayden Grinion, Jr., SUNY Brockport – :49.61
800-Meter Run
First Team: Jonathan Zavala, Sr., SUNY Brockport – 1:53.85 (Championship Record)
Second Team: Matthew Sheehan, Sr., SUNY Geneseo – 1:54.03
Third Team: Owen Arbocus, So., SUNY Brockport – 1:54.14
Mile
First Team: Jonathan Zavala, Sr., SUNY Brockport – 4:10.28 (Championship Record)
Second Team: Mike Taranto, So., SUNY Geneseo – 4:12.62
Third Team: Cade Eells, Sr., Nazareth – 4:13.42
3,000-Meters
First Team: Pierce Young, So., SUNY Geneseo – 8:26.44 (Championship Record)
Second Team: Charlie Wilson, Gr., SUNY Geneseo – 8:27.02
Third Team: Mike Taranto, So., SUNY Geneseo – 8:27.45
5,000-Meters
First Team: Charlie Wilson, Gr., SUNY Geneseo – 14:49.94
Second Team: Anson Butler, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – 14:50.05
Third Team: Pierce Young, So., SUNY Geneseo – 14:50.15
4 x 400-Meter Relay
First Team: Sam Belmont, So., Matthew Sheehan, Sr., Andrew Kent, Jr., Jacob Miller, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – 3:17.73 (Championship Record)
Second Team: Michael Durski, So., Jeremy Chen, Jr., Jonathan Zavala., Sr., Ayden Grinion, Jr., SUNY Brockport – 3:21.51
Third Team: Tanner Warren, So., Nolan Flynn, Jr., Evan Smith., So., Ellis Urgent, Fr., Utica – 3:21.77
Distance Medley Relay
First Team: Logan Baker, Fr., Arjun Ojha., Fr., Matthew Sheehan, Sr., Brian Kenny, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – 10:24.55
Second Team: Tobias Jeralds, Jr., Tristan Vargo, Sr., Forest Martin, So., Bennett Melita, So., Utica –
10:26.46
Third Team: Jamie Schappi, Sr., Rob Hartigan, Sr., Nathan Canale, So., Nate Kulp, Sr., St. John Fisher – 10:35.69
Pole Vault
First Team: Hayden Penna, So., St. John Fisher – 4.60 meters
Second Team: Gabriel Giannini, Jr., SUNY Brockport – 4.60 meters
Third Team: Will D’Agata, Fr., Nazareth – 4.45 meters
High Jump
First Team: Sean Cochrane, Gr., St. John Fisher – 1.92 meters
Second Team: Kaiden McCaskill, So., Utica – 1.92 meters
Third Team: Cardin Chau, Fr., SUNY Brockport– 1.87 meters
Third Team: Cory Jarvis, So., SUNY Geneseo – 1.87 meters
Long Jump
First Team: Manuel Sepulveda, So., St. John Fisher – 7.19 meters
Second Team: Ellis Urgent, Fr., Utica – 6.99 meters
Third Team: Gabriel Giannini, Jr., SUNY Brockport – 6.80 meters
Triple Jump
First Team: Manuel Sepulveda, So., St. John Fisher – 14.97 meters (Championship and All-Time Empire 8 Record)
Second Team: Dennis Bobbitt, Fr., SUNY Brockport – 14.08 meters
Third Team: Sean Stewart, Sr., SUNY Geneseo – 13.83 meters
Shot Put
First Team: Hunter Logan, Gr., Utica – 15.66 meters
Second Team: Ray Trottier, So., SUNY Geneseo – 15.07 meters
Third Team: Graeden Heichberger, Fr., Nazareth – 14.84 meters
Weight Throw
First Team: Brandon Kaplan, Jr., St, John Fisher – 17.78 meters
Second Team: Spencer Borghardt, Jr., Utica – 17.35 meters
Third Team: Graeden Heichberger, Fr., Nazareth – 16.72 meters
Heptathlon
First Team: Gabriel Giannini, Jr., SUNY Brockport – 4,656 points (Championship Record)
Second Team: Daniel Pagan, Jr., SUNY Geneseo – 4,598 points
Third Team: Jack Pomykaj, Jr., Nazareth – 4,584 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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