UTICA, NY - The Utica University track and field program will travel to Nazareth College for the Empire 8 Indoor Championships on Friday, February 24th beginning at 3 p.m. and continuing Saturday, February 25th at 10 a.m.
 
Follow Along: Live video will be available via https://portal.stretchinternet.com/nazareth/
and live results will be available through https://www.leonetiming.com/schedule/. 
 
Last Time Out: Billie Mays III led the way with a massive shot put personal record of 15.23m which netted him second place behind teammate Hunter Logan (15.61m). The men's distance medley team of Anthony Leotta, Nolan Flynn, Hayden Lohmann, and Michael Roberts came in first with a time of 10:51.20. Justin Valentin won his heat of the men's 60m hurdles and placed second overall with a time of 9.08. Utica dominated the men's 60m first round with Andy Hadasz (7.24) placing second, Nolan Flynn (7.25) coming in third, and Shane Tinney (7.33) placing fifth. In the men's 60m final Andy Hadasz came in third finishing in 7.17 and Nolan Flynn finished fourth coming in at 7.18. Elizabeth Glomski (Thiells, NY/North Rockland) finished third in the women's 60m clocking in at 8.53. Janaiya Cruz-Bermudez (East Hartford, CT/East Hartford) continued her excellent season and won the women's 400m with a time of 1:03.37 which was over two seconds faster than second place. In the men's 400m, Hayden Lohmann came in fourth, clocking in at 54.50, followed by Quallan Brown, who finished at 55.75. Nora Devitt (Beverly, MA/Beverly) placed second in the women's 60m hurdles with a time of 10.05. Cole DeKing came in second in the men's 60m hurdles clocking in at 9.12. Jade Dening (Remsen, NY/Remsen) placed third in the women's 800m with a time of 2:26.87. Utica dominated the 4x200m claiming the top two spots. Andy Hadasz, Nolan Flynn, Ethan Kain, and Shane Tinney placed first with a time of 1:33.92. Michael Orioles, Nyles Rogers, Zane Lepage, and Quallan Brown finished second clocking in at 1:41.30. Nora Devitt (Beverly, MA/Beverly), Jane Dening, Noella Burlette (Manchester, CT/Manchester), and Sarah Sharpe (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) came in second place in the women's 4x400m  with a time of 4:37.99. Andrew Wieder, Brady Szekeres, Cole DeKing, and Jonathan Simmons placed third in the men's 4x400m finishing in 3:44.16. Jane Fahy (Oriskany, NY/MVCC/Oriskany) continued her strong season and won the women's shot put with a toss of 12.42m. Duanena Graves (Colonie, NY/Colonie) came in third with her best toss being 10.30m. Antwan Kelly took home first in the men's shot put with a winning toss of 16.86m which topped second place by over two meters. Gabrielle DeSanctis (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) won the women's shot put with her throw of 13.71m. Utica swept the podium in the men's pole vault as Brady Szekeres, Jack Rathburn, and Andrew Wieder all tied for first with a clearance of 3.51m. Gregory Olden came in second in the men's high jump with a mark of 1.82m. Amina Sinclair (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) finished third in the women's high jump with a mark of 1.52. Nora Devitt (Beverly, MA/Beverly) won the women's triple jump with a mark of 10.48m. Gregory Olden placed first in the men's triple jump with a clearance of 11.99m. Dion Putaski finished third with his best mark being 11.63m.
 
What to Watch on Friday: Friday's events will feature shot put, pole vault, long jump, 60m hurdles, 60m dash, mile run, 400m, 5000m, distance medley relay and more. A top-notch effort from shot put will likely be a driving force for the Pioneers on Friday. Utica holds 11 out of 25 Empire 8 spots for the men and 9 out of 25 top spots for the women. Last year, Utica placed seven of the top-ten shot put finishers for the championship. Hunter Logan and Billie Mays III are leading the pack in the number one and two spots. Jane Fahy (Oriskany, NY/MVCC/Oriskany) leads the women with a mark of 13.11 holding the number one spot by just over one meter. Duanena Graves (Colonie, NY/Colonie) is sixth in the Empire 8 with her best mark being 10.30m.
 
In the pole vault, Chris Wagner is ranked third at 3.80 meters and should be in the mix to score. Jack Rathburn is ranked fifth in the conference at 3.65m and he and Brady Szekeres will be participating in the final.
 
In men's long jump, Zuriel Wright is on the heels of the top-seed Matther Stasiw from St. John Fisher and Dion Pulaski should be in the mix to score with a mark of 6.35m ranked fifth. In women's long jump, Laura Meade (Glenville, NY/Scotia-Glenville) represents Utica's best ship to collect points, she is seeded number six with a mark of 5.24m. Nora Devitt (Beverly, MA/Beverly) is ranked eleventh with her top mark being 4.96m.
 
On the track, Laura Meade (Glenville, NY/Scotia-Glenville) leads the conference with 2809 points in the Heptathlon giving the Pioneers a great chance to score points. Nora Devitt (Beverly, MA/Beverly) is not far behind with 2404 points which will also give the Pioneers some points. 
 
In the men's 60m Andy Hadasz and Nolan Flynn are in second and third with times of 7.12 and 7.18, this gives Utica an amazing shot of locking up some points. In the women's 60m, Utica has a high chance of scoring with Mackenzie mix seeded second at 7.86 and Laura Meade (Glenville, NY/Scotia-Glenville) seeded sixth at 8.08. 
 
In the women's 60 hurdles, Lara Meade holds on to the second seed with a time of 5.24 and Nora Devitt (Beverly, MA/Beverly) is seeded sixth with a time of 10.05. In the men's hurdles, Justin Valentin, seeded sixth and Cole DeKing seeded eighth, will both fight for podium placements. 
 
Jade Dening (Remsen, NY/Remsen) will fight for a podium spot in the women's one-mile run with a time of 5:31.04. Six athletes in this event have run under 5:30 this season and a few others may be podium contenders if the race turns tactical. Michael Roberts and Zachary Brown are looking to earn points for Utica in the men's one mile, as only three athletes have run under a 4:30 in this event. 
 
The Distance Medley relays are a tight race with only four men's teams and six women's teams competing in the event in the regular season. The men's team of Anthony Leotta, Nolan Flynn, Hayden Lohmann, and Michael Roberts are ranked third with their best time being 10:51.20. The women are ranked fifth clocking in at 14:20.18 and the team is composed of Jade Dening (Remsen, NY/Remsen), Noella Burlette (Manchester, CT/Manchester), Sarah Sharpe (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills), and Gianna Welker (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany).
 
Nolan Flynn is sixth in the E8 400m with his best time of 52.11 and is followed by Andy Hadasz who is ranked seventh at 52.21. Mackenzie Mix (Camden, NY/Camden) ranks second with her time of 57.66 and Janaiya Cruz-Bermudez (East Hartford, CT/East Hartford) sits tenth with her time of 1:03.14.
 
Michael Roberts has been fantastic this season and is ranked second in the conference with his time of 15:29.88 in the men's 5000m.
 
What to Watch on Saturday: Among Saturday's events will be weight throw, high jump and the 200-meter dash, which Utica will have a solid number of athletes competing in both. Utica holds the top spots in the conference in men's weight throw, men's and women's high jump, women's triple jump, as well as men's and women's 200-meter dash. 
 
In men's weight throw, Antwan Kelly holds the top seed in the conference with a stellar resume of four Empire 8 awards, the Utica school record, and is ranked 22nd in the nation. Utica holds 11 of the top 25 seeds, giving the team an amazing chance at locking up podium places and points. Justin Swavely sits fourth with his best mark being 14.93m. Gabrielle DeSanctis (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) sits second (14.83m) and is followed by Emilia Costello (Central Square, NY/Central Square) (14.23m) in third.
 
In the high jump event, Zuriel Wright is seeded first overall and eighth in the nation, and Blake Hobin is seeded third overall, with both poised for podium spots. Amina Sinclair (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) and Hayden Williamson of Houghton are tied for the first seed, they will have an intriguing duel as they fight for the first-place podium spot. Maya Leonard (Newington, CT/Newington) is ranked eleventh in the conference with her best mark being 1.40m.
 
Laura Meade (Glenville, NY/Scotia-Glenville) looks to take her triple jump crown back after winning the championship last year with a mark of 11.12, she enters this weekend's competition as the E8 leader with a mark of 11.17m. Nora Devitt (Beverly, MA/Beverly) is sixth with her top mark being 10.54m. Zuriel Wright is third in the conference (12.78m) and Dion Putaski is ranked eighth with his best mark being 12.51m.
 
Day two of the heptathlon will feature Andrew Weider who sits second in the Empire 8 at 4039 points and Brady Szekeres who ranks seventh with 3346 points being his top mark. 
 
In the 800m Janaiya Cruz-Bermudez (East Hartford, CT/East Hartford) is fourth in the E8 with her top mark of 2:26.74 and Jade Dening (Remsen, NY/Remsen) is fifth with 2:02.17 being her top time. Tristan Vargo is ranked seventh (2:01.71) and Hayden Lohmann is seeded eighth with his top time of 2:02.17. 
 
Utica has dominated the 200m with Mackenzie Mix (Camden, NY/Camden) (25.66) and Andy Hadasz (22.63) both holding the top spots in the conference. Nolan Flynn (23.24) and Laura Meade (Glenville, NY/Scotia-Glenville) (27.13) also excel in the event as both are ranked fifth.
 
Both the men's and women's 4x400 teams are ranked third in the conference which should lead to points for both teams. The women's team is composed of Janaiya Cruz-Bermudez (East Hartford, CT/East Hartford), Jade Dening (Remsen, NY/Remsen), Laura Meade (Glenville, NY/Scotia-Glenville), and Mackenzie Mix (Camden, NY/Camden) and their top time is 4:11.88. Andy Hadasz, Dion Putaski, Nolan Flynn, and Zuriel Wright make up the men's team and their best mark is 3:33.02.
 
Michael Roberts has had success in long distance events, and he is seeded sixth in the Empire 8 in the men's 3000m for his top time of 9:07.39.
 
Up Next: The teams will travel to the NYC Armory for the All-Atlantic Regional Track and Field Conference Indoor Championships starting on Friday, March 3rd, and continuing Saturday, March 4th with the times for both days to be announced.