UTICA, NY - The Utica University track and field programs battle the top regional competition, while making one final push for NCAA Championship qualification on Wednesday and Thursday as they head to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Championships hosted by Moravian University. Competition begins at noon on Wednesday at Moravian's Rocco Calvo Field.
Ticket Information: This will be a ticketed event, and the only way to purchase tickets is online. They will cost five dollars each. Purchase Tickets
Follow Along: The extraordinary crew at Leone Timing will be on hand to time this week's meet. Visit LeoneTiming.com for live results as they take place. Additionally, Moravian will have multiple event streams running throughout the weekend in an effort to offer coverage of as many events as possible. Video will be available at https://www.moraviansports.com/links/yz42i1
Last Time Out: The Pioneers last competed on Sunday at the ROC City Final Qualifier hosted by Nazareth College. No team scores were kept at the meet. Highlights of the day included a first place finish by Daijon Richards in the 100 meters, and a new school record by Laura Meade (Glenville, NY/Scotia-Glenville) in the 400 hurdles as she elevated her personal best to 1:05.04. Meade was chosen as the E8 Field Athlete of the Week on Monday.
At Last Year's Meet: The Utica men placed fifteenth with 22 points, while the Utica women totaled 21 points to place fourteenth at 2021 championships hosted by St. John Fisher College. Utica's top performance of the meet came from long jumper Kelsey Wands (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), whose second place finish in the long jump at 5.84 meters also netted her the #2 mark in the nation at the time. Kyle Swiecki, Chase Pecoraro, and Andrew Wieder had a triple podium in the men's decathlon.
Super Sprints: The Pioneers will have the luxury of a healthy contingent of qualifiers in the sprinting events with a long list of achievements this outdoor season. In the men's 100, three Pioneers have met the qualifying time. Daijon Richards' career-best time of 10.73 seconds ranks him fifth on the performance list, while Josh Washington's 10.77 is eighth among a hyper-competitive list. Both athletes were on the 2021 podium in that event. Michael Campbell's 11.05 from the Empire 8 championships is good for 39th on the performance list. Mackenzie Mix's (Camden, NY/Camden) school record times in the 100, 200, and 400 are all good enough to make the field. She is ranked eighth at 100 meters with a 12.18 second performance, 21st at 200 meters in 25.26 seconds, and ninth in the 400 meters with a time of 56.76. Laura Meade (Glenville, NY/Scotia-Glenville) holds the 32nd-best 100 meter time in the region with a 12.52. The Pioneers were also able to qualify a team for the men's and women's 4x100 relays.
Happy Hurdling: The Utica women's squad has qualifiers in all three hurdling events to this week's championship. Laura Meade (Glenville, NY/Scotia-Glenville) and Sophie Henderson (Rome, NY/RFA) have both set personal bests in the 100 hurdles this season. Meade is ranked 20th with a time of 15.48, while Henderson will enter the championship with a best time of 15.61 to stand 22nd. Meade's school-record 400 hurdle time of 1:05.04 is the eleventh-best mark among qualifiers. Jade Dening (Remsen, NY/Remsen) has qualified to contest the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of 11:46.14, which ranks fifteenth in the region.
Everybody Jump, Jump: Four Pioneer athletes have qualified in the jumping events for this week. Many eyes will be tuned into Ka'Sean Watlington's performance this weekend. The graduate student leads the nation with a 15.10 meter triple jump, and is also 24th nationally and seventh in the region in the long jump. Zuriel Wright is seventh in the region in the high jump, with a top clearance of 2.00 meters. Chase Pecoraro has cleared the bar at 1.90 meters to rank 20th. Laura Meade (Glenville, NY/Scotia-Glenville) is ranked 24th in the region for the long jump at 5.35 meters.
Pick Things Up And Put Them Down: Utica's throws group is also primed to succeed this week. Hunter Logan leads the way with a #3 regional ranking in the men's shot put, where he has topped out at a mark of 16.26 meters this outdoor season. Arthur Bittel is ranked 26th with a qualifying mark of 14.36 meters. In the women's shot put, Jane Fahy (Oriskany, NY/MVCC/Oriskany) holds a #5 regional ranking with a top performance of 12.99 meters. Fahy is also ranked 27th in the women's discus with a best performance of 37.59 meters. Nathan Florian and Antwan Kelly will represent the Pioneers in the men's discus, with both athletes recording season-bests at the ROC City Final Qualifier on Sunday. Florian is ranked 17th with a best throw of 45.48 meters, while Kelly is 25th at 43.60 meters. In the men's javelin, Justin Swavely's 55.22 meter heave from the E8 championships is ranked 15th, while Chase Pecoraro's 50.62 meter mark checks in at 33rd in the region.
The Power of 10: Andrew Wieder qualified to contest the decathlon with his score of 5,298 points from the Cortland Classic. He placed third during that weekend's competition, and will enter the championship ranked 11th in the region. Wieder has scored as well as 5,303 points in his career to this point.
Up Next: The Pioneers await NCAA Championships selections this weekend. Advancing athletes will compete the following weekend in Geneva, Ohio.
