UTICA, NY - The Utica University Men's Track and Field program took home top honors at Friday's Utica Winter Opener. The Pioneers won a meet title for a second time this season, securing 107 points at the Todd and Jennifer Hutton Sports and Recreation Dome.
The Pioneers won a total of six events in their first meet of the 2024 calendar year, and piled up four national top 50 performances along the way.
Among them was a terrific performance by Andy Hadasz (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) at 200 meters. A time of 22.15 was good enough to take the win and rank seventh nationally. It was a new indoor best for the established Pioneer sprinter. He improved his #2 all-time program performance with Friday's time. Ethan Kain (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) was eighth in the same event with a time of 23.39.
In the throws, the triple threat of Hunter Logan (Fort Plain, NY/Herkimer College), Antwan Kelly (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool), and Justin Swavely (Rome, NY/RFA) wreaked havoc on the national leaderboards as one might expect at this time of year. In the shot put, Logan soared his sixth and final throw out to 16.11 meters to win, and place himself ninth nationally in his first official NCAA competition representing Utica since the NCAA Outdoor Championships in May.
Kelly and Swavely put on a show in the weight throw on their way to a 1-2 finish. Kelly's best mark of the day went 17.83 meters to take the win. He was just over two inches away from re-setting his own school record, and is currently 10th nationally. Swavely's 15.71 meter runner-up heave places him third all-time at Utica, and 44th nationally as it stands right now.
Billie Mays III (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) was third in the shot put with his throw of 13.39 meters.
In the Pole Vault, sophomore Jack Rathburn (Clarendon Hills, IL/Westmont) was the winner on tiebreakers, where he outdueled Oneonta's Michael Carey. His 4.00 meter clearance to take the win places him eighth all-time in the fifteen year life of the program. That is the third-best performance in the Empire 8 this season.
At 400 meters, Nolan Flynn (Bethel, CT/Bethel) ran the second-fastest time of his collegiate indoor career to secure victory with a time of 51.07. That is the Empire 8 Conference's fastest time this season. Jonathan Simmons (Broadalbin, NY/Broadalbin-Perth) was third at a time of 53.79.
The men's 4x200 relay team of Flynn, Hadasz, Kain, and Shane Tinney (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany) fended off a tough challenge from second place Union to win with a combined time of 1:33.11.
Rookies Tanner Warren and Evan Smith (Baldwinsville, NY/Baker) set the team's pace at 500 meters by placing fourth and fifth, respectively. Warren covered the distance in 1:07.92, while Smith got across the line in 1:09.24. Warren's time ranks sixth on the program's all-time list.
At 1,000 meters, Anthony Leotta (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollows Hills West) took fifth place with a time of 2:38.1. He grabbed four team points while competing against a field largely comprised of Division I and Division II athletes.
In jumps competition, Connor Dean (Taberg, Ny/Camden), Cooper Jones (Rio Rancho, NM/Rio Rancho), and Theodore Tsamis (Richmondville, NY/Cobleskill-Richmondville) all cleared 1.72 meters in the high jump. Dean was sixth, while Jones and Tsamis tied for the seventh spot. Dean was also seventh in the long jump at 6.27 meters. Dean's high jump and long jump marks are season bests for his rookie indoor campaign.
Last but not least, alumnus Geoff Hale claimed the top spot in the Alumni Mile with a winning time of 4:48.11.
The Pioneers return to action on Friday, January 19th at Hamilton College.
