CANTON, NY - The Utica College track and field teams had a great start to their 2021-22 indoor season on Saturday. The Pioneer men won the team competition with 173 points, while the UC women were third with 112 points in the SLU Saints Holiday Relays at Newell Field House in Canton, NY.
The Pioneer jumps group combined to win five out of the six jump events over the course of the afternoon. Kelsey Wands won the women's long jump at 5.07 meters, while Sei Sei (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) won the men's event with a 6.56 meter performance to lead a 1-2-3 finish, with Zuriel Wright (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) coming in second at 6.46 meters, and Josh Washington third at 6.34 meters. The men's triple jump was won by newcomer Cooper Jones (Rio Rancho, NM/Rio Rancho) in 11.24 meters. In the high jump, rookie Makiya Donnelly cleared five feet with a 1.53 meter jump to win, while Zuriel Wright (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) commanded the men's field with a 1.89 meter leap, spearheading a 1-2-3 finish with Antonio Reyes (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) in second, and Jones in third.
Andrew Wieder (Clinton, NY/Clinton) won the men's pole vault in 3.50 meters.
In the sprints, Daijon Richards (Mount Vernon, NY/Mount Vernon) was the leader for the UC men with an AARTFC championship qualifying time of 7.15 seconds at 60 meters, which led a 1-2 finish with Washington placing second in 7.19 seconds. Maya Leonard was third in the women's 60 meter dash in 8.51 seconds. Newcomer Mackenzie Mix and sophomore Janaiya Cruz-Bermudez went 1-2 in the women's 300 meters, with Mix setting a new personal best time of 42.87 seconds to grab the win. Alexis Cole was fourth.
Laura Levi was the top middle distance performer for UC with a 1:52.88 good enough to win at 600 meters. Jade Dening won the women's 1,000 meters at a time of 3:12.53
The men's and women's 4x200 relays both were victorious. The women's team of Mix, Cruz-Bermudez, Clarke, and Laura Meade clocked in at 1:53.41, while the men's squad of Michael Campbell, Sei, James Boss (/Moorpark College), and Washington hit the line in 1:34.49
The women's distance medley squad of Levi, Cole, Sarah Sharpe, and Jade Dening was second in 14:04. Dening had the fastest anchor leg in the field.
The throws also produced a banner day. In the men's shot put, Hunter Logan (Fort Plain, NY/Herkimer College) had an impressive debut throw of 15.21 meters to rank as the top collegiate thrower in the field, and Arthur Bittel (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) was third in 13.83. Gabrielle DeSanctis won the women's weight throw with a personal best of 14.11 meters, while the UC men dominated the weight with a performance spanning the top five positions. Antwan Kelly (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) led the way in 14.40 meters, with Nathan Florian, Billie Mays III (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy), Jacob Barnes (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool), and Logan rounding out the top five.
Utica will host the Pioneer Winter Classic next weekend at the Hutton Dome.
