CORTLAND, NY - The Utica University track and field team had more stellar performances as the squad wrapped up the second day of competition at the Cortland Classic. No team scores were kept at the meet.
Highlighting the day was a season-best for Ka'Sean Watlington (Bayport, NY/Bayport-Bluepoint) in the triple jump, and a huge breakthrough win for Laura Meade in the 100 hurdles.
In the men's triple jump, Ka'Sean Watlington (Bayport, NY/Bayport-Bluepoint) was at the head of the field with a 14.72 meter jump. The winning jump was the best so far of his 2022 comeback tour, and is the #2 mark in the nation.
Meade posted a convincing career-best 15.77 seconds to take the win and the #4 performance in program history. Sophie Henderson placed second at 15.97. Meade's performance now ranks third in the E8.
The men's 4x100 team of Zuriel Wright (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial), Josh Washington, Michael Campbell, and Daijon Richards (Mount Vernon, NY/Mount Vernon) also excelled on the track. They marked down a time of 42.03 seconds to take the win. That is the E8's fastest time by over two seconds.
Mackenzie Mix won the women's 200 meters with a strong time of 25.49 seconds.
Behind Watlington's eye-popping outing, great performances in the field were a hallmark of the day.
In the men's shot put, Hunter Logan (Fort Plain, NY/Herkimer College) and Arthur Bittel (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) had a 1-2 finish. Logan tossed a 15.68 meter throw, while Bittel put up a 13.72 meter effort as the runner-up.
In the women's shot put, Jane Fahy was the runner-up at 12.20 meters in a field of 28 competitors.
In the women's discus, Fahy was third with a 37.59 meter effort that was a new personal best and the #3 mark in program history. It's also the #2 mark in the conference this year.
In the men's discus, Antwan Kelly (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) was the winner at a distance of 42.36 meters. Nathan Florian was second with a career-best 42.13 meter mark for the #8 mark in program history.
Zuriel Wright (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) was second in the men's high jump with a 1.92 meter outing. Amina Sinclair was fourth in women's action at 1.42 meters.
Andrew Wieder (Clinton, NY/Clinton) scored 5,298 points in the men's decathlon to place third, and achieve a 30th place ranking on the latest NCAA list. He was just short of a personal best in the wet conditions. Chase Pecoraro (Medina, NY/Medina) finished sixth with 4,257 points.
Meade was third in the women's triple jump at 9.98 meters, while teammate Nora Devitt was fourth at 9.92 meters. The latter was good for a personal best while also cracking the top ten marks in the conference.
The Pioneers will have one final tune-up before the Empire 8 Championships next weekend as they visit St. Lawrence on Saturday, April 30th.
