UTICA, NY- The Utica University men's indoor track team will return home to host the Blue & Orange Invitational and Multi this weekend. Day one will be on Friday, January 26, with heptathlon events only, and day two will follow on Saturday, January 27, with the remainder of the meet.
Follow Along: Live results will be available
here through Leone Timing.
Fresh Look: The Pioneers will debut their brand-new uniforms this weekend that feature the solo moose logo over an orange/checkered design concept.
Last Time Out: The Utica University men's indoor track and field team took on the Hamilton College Continental Invitational on Friday, January 19. The men's team won six events, including a win in every throwing event. For the second week in a row,
Hunter Logan (Fort Plain, NY/Herkimer College) had the farthest shot put throw of the night (15.68m) to take first place. Logan was not alone as a top finisher, as
Billie Mays III (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) took second (12.73m), and
Michael McNeil (Yarmouth, ME/Yarmouth) was third (12.62m). As of Friday night in the Empire 8 standings, Utica holds each place in the top-10 rankings in the shot put. The Pioneers stuffed the stat sheet in the weight throw as well.
Justin Swavely (Rome, NY/RFA) was first (15.26m),
Spencer Borghardt (Melville, NY/St.Anthony's) was second (14.35m),
Joshua Talbot (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) was third (13.97m) and Mark Brown placed fourth (13.05m). The Pioneer sprinters posted two top-10 all time marks in their respective events. First of which was by star sprinter
Andy Hadasz (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) in the 60m. Hadasz ran a personal best time of 7.02 to win the event. This gives him the No. 3 spot in Utica program history and now qualifies him for regionals.
Ethan Kain (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) ran in the 60m with a personal best time of 7.35 to take third, and
Shane Tinney (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany) was fourth (7.37). Tinney also ran a season best 24.08 in the 200m to place third. The second all-time mark was by freshman
Tanner Warren (Mohawk, NY/Central Valley Academy) in the 400m. In his first time running the event, Warren took first place with a time of 51.55, and he now sits at No. 8 all-time. Warren was also on the first place 4x400 team that featured Hadasz, Kain, and
Evan Smith (Baldwinsville, NY/Baker) that crossed the line at 3:34.63. In the 3,000m, freshman
Ben Bellinger (Sherrill, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) took first place with a time of 9:47.83, beating the second place finisher by just less than five seconds. In the jumping events, freshman
Connor Dean (Taberg, Ny/Camden) was a top finisher in all three. In his first time competing in triple jump this season, Dean placed second with a jump of 12.64m. He was also the second place finisher in long jump, with his best jump being 6.25m, which came on his sixth and final attempt. In high jump, Dean placed fourth, clearing a season best 1.72m. Freshman
Theodore Tsamis (Richmondville, NY/Cobleskill-Richmondville) placed just in front of him at third, clearing the same height but had one less failed attempt than Dean.
In The Polls: In the current Niagara Regional rankings that came out on Monday, the men's team holds the sixth spot with 152.03 points. Utica is the top Empire 8 team in the region, with Nazareth the next closest team at 95.11 points. Some of the team's top point scorers are
Andy Hadasz (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), (34.03),
Antwan Kelly (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) (24.26), Andrew Weider (22.85), and
Hunter Logan (Fort Plain, NY/Herkimer College) (22.13).
Top 5: The 400m sprinters for the Pioneers have been having a great year thus far. The men's team has clogged up the top five spots in Empire 8 standings, holding all but the #1 spot.
Nolan Flynn (Bethel, CT/Bethel) is ranked second (51.07),
Connor Dean (Taberg, Ny/Camden) is third (51.23),
Evan Smith (Baldwinsville, NY/Baker) is fourth (51.39), and
Tanner Warren (Mohawk, NY/Central Valley Academy) is fifth (51.55). Compared to last indoor season, the team just had one runner in the top five for the 400m, which was Flynn.
Throwin' It Out of The Park: Even the word dominance doesn't quite describe the team's performance in shot put this season. In the current Empire 8 rankings, the Utica throwers hold all but one of the top ten spots. The rankings are as follows:
- Hunter Logan (Fort Plain, NY/Herkimer College)- 16.11m
- Billie Mays III (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy)- 14.40m
- Michael McNeil (Yarmouth, ME/Yarmouth)- 12.66m
- Thomas Dunn ()- 12.66m
- Keegan Park (LeRoy, NY/LeRoy)- 11.57m
- Jay Brown (Jamaica, NY/Holy Cross)- 11.48m
- Edward Haeffer- 11.46m
9. Michael Rollins- 11.26m
10.
Michael Parry (Fort Johnson, NY/Broadalbin-Perth)- 11.10m
4 Times Around: As it currently stands, the 800m runners for the team have made their mark in conference rankings. In first place is
Tobias Jeralds (Chatham, NY/Chatham) (2:01.78),
Hayden Lohmann (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) is fourth (2:04.34),
Bennett Melita (Johnstown, NY/Fonda Fultonville) is sixth (2:04.56), and
Timothy Jeralds (Denver, CO/Chatam) holds the seventh spot (2:05.60). Looking back at last indoor season, the Pioneers did not have a runner in the top five.
Up Next: The Pioneers will remain home to host the Fast Trax Invite on Saturday, February 3, starting at 2 pm.
