CANTON, NY - The Utica Track and Field program saw some sharp performances as it participated in its final meet before next weekend's Empire 8 Championships. The Pioneers placed second in the men's team competition with 155 points, and third in the women's team competition with 93 points at the St. Lawrence University Open.
Some of the day's biggest performances occurred in the throws. Gabrielle DeSanctis was the women's weight throw winner as she heaved her fourth attempt to a career-best 15.01 meters. She remains third in the conference in that event. Rookie Emelia Costello was the team's top shot putter in her debut, putting out a 9.36 meter effort to land in seventh place in the women's event. In the men's shot put and weight throw, Hunter Logan (Fort Plain, NY/Herkimer College) (16.17m, shot) and Antwan Kelly (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) (16.05m, weight throw) turned out winning, championship-ready performances in their signature events.
The jumps squad was headlined by a sweep of the top spots in the pole vault. Andrew Wieder (Clinton, NY/Clinton) topped the men's table on a busy day in which he was in the top five of all four events he competed in. His pole vault clearance of 3.60 meters was a personal best. He was also second in the high jump with a 1.79 meter effort, serving as the runner-up to Zuriel Wright's (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) 1.95 meter performance. Holly Cifonelli snagged the first win of her college career in the women's vault with a 2.15 meter clearance. In the men's horizontal jumps, Cooper Jones (Rio Rancho, NM/Rio Rancho) was second in the triple jump at 11.44 meters, while Gregory Olden's 5.82 meter leap placed fourth in the long jump. Olden recorded a total of three personal bests at the meet. Gianna Cognetti produced a terrific double with a 4.71 meter mark to place second in the long jump, and a 9.54 meter triple jump good for a fourth place finish. Makiya Donnelly was second in the women's high jump at a 1.51 meter top height.
In the sprints, Terrance Toussaint (West Orange, NJ/West Orange) had a strong double with a pair of personal bests. He was third at 60 meters in the preliminaries and finals with times of 7.34 and 7.35 seconds, respectively. He was also third at 200 meters at a time of 23.95. Ayjah Clarke ran the fastest time of the women's 60 meter preliminaries, and later came back second in the finals in 8.43 seconds.
Brady Szekeres (Accord, NY/Rondout Valley) featured for Utica in the men's 60 hurdles, placing third in a time of 9.61 to add to a personal best performance at 200 meters.
Jade Dening ran a new season-best time in the mile of 5:26.25 to place second, with teammate Brieann Lohmann coming in sixth. Hayden Lohmann (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) was fifth in the men's 800 meters in a time of 2:04.06. Michael Roberts (Remsen, NY/Remsen) put together a season-best time in the mile of 4:37.20 to place fourth.
The women's 4x200 relay team of Clarke, Cognetti, Elizabeth Glomski, and Jenni Broadhurst was victorious in a time of 1:56.86. The men's 4x200 relay team of Byamungu Mugushu (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes), Widmarc Thomas (Middletown, NY/Minisink Valley), Nyles Rogers (Suffern, NY/Suffern), and Quallan Brown was second in 1:41.39, and the men's 4x400 team of Lohmann, Roberts, Wieder, and Patrick Uwechue () was third in 3:51.
The Pioneers will host the Empire 8 Championships next Friday and Saturday.
