ROCHESTER, NY - The Utica University track and field teams combined to win five events on a strong opening day at the 2022 Empire 8 Outdoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Nazareth College.
After one day of competition, the Pioneers rank second in the men's team competition with 68 points, and third in the women's team competition with 31 points.
Mackenzie Mix brought two of the day's top performances to life. She excelled at 100 meters with the top time of the preliminaries in a meet record of 12.22 seconds, and became the first Pioneer women's track and field athlete to go under 57 seconds at 400 meters with a new school record time of 56.76 to claim her first E8 outdoor championship. Her 400 meter time moves her up to fourteenth nationally in that event. Laura Meade also made the finals of the women's 100 meters with a time of 12.57 seconds, good for the third-fastest time.
In the men's sprints, Josh Washington and Daijon Richards (Mount Vernon, NY/Mount Vernon) qualified for the 100 meter finals with the two fastest times of the preliminaries. Washington led the way with a 10.89, just ahead of Richards' time of 10.93.
In the 3,000 steeplechase, both Pioneer entries recorded personal best times. Jade Dening improved her time to 11:46.14 to claim her first E8 individual title of her career in the women's event. In the men's event, Michael Roberts (Remsen, NY/Remsen) ran a time of 10:02.57 to place second.
In the women's 100 hurdles, Laura Meade's time of 15.48 seconds was a personal best as she ranked second in the preliminaries. Her time was the #3 performance in program history. Sophie Henderson was third-fastest with a time of 15.61 seconds to punch her ticket to tomorrow's final.
In the relays, the women's 4x800 team of Alexis Cole, Laura Levi, Janaiya Cruz-Bermudez, and Jade Dening was second with a time of 10:03. Andrew Wieder (Clinton, NY/Clinton), Tristan Vargo (East Aurora, NY/Orchard Park), Michael Roberts (Remsen, NY/Remsen), and Hayden Lohmann (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) teamed up to place fourth in the men's event.
In the field, the Pioneer men claimed the title in three events.
In the men's javelin throw, Justin Swavely (Rome, NY/RFA) tossed a remarkable career best of 55.22 meters to take the win and record the #2 mark in program history. Jacob Barnes (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) and Chase Pecoraro (Medina, NY/Medina) joined him on the podium with fourth place and fifth place finishes, respectively.
Ka'Sean Watlington (Bayport, NY/Bayport-Bluepoint) won the men's long jump with a school record and meet record jump of 7.23 meters. That jump puts him in 23rd nationally while giving him his second E8 outdoor championship in that event. Sei Sei (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) was fourth with a jump of 6.66 meters, while Chase Pecoraro (Medina, NY/Medina) was sixth with a 6.48 meter jump that edged out Josh Washington for the final scoring position.
Chase Pecoraro (Medina, NY/Medina) won his third outdoor championship in the men's pole vault in as many appearances with a season-best clearance of 4.25 meters. Andrew Wieder (Clinton, NY/Clinton) scooped up a point with a sixth place finish with a clearance of 3.35 meters.
Laura Meade was fifth in the women's long jump at 5.35 meters. Skyler Whorf picked up a sixth place finish in the women's hammer throw with a top performance of 39.62 meters to snag a single point.
Second day competition begins at 11 a.m. Saturday.
