UTICA, NY- The Utica University men's indoor track and field team will host the Fast Trax Invite on Saturday, February 3 at the Todd and Jen Hutton Sports and Recreation Dome. The meet is set to begin at 2pm.
Follow Along: Live results will be available
here through Leone Timing.
Alumni Event: Utica University Advancement will host a special gathering of Pioneer Track and Field parents and alumni at the Fast Trax Invite on February 3. From 2-5 p.m. in the Todd and Jen Hutton Sports and Recreation Center main lobby, attendees will receive a free Utica Pioneers rally towel and a snack pack, compliments of Utica University Advancement. Those interested have until Wednesday, January 31 to register at
https://www.utica.edu/instadvance/alumni/forms/registration.cfm?event=93601C84-D468-416D-9FB78FB9A4D66A0A.
Last Time Out: The Utica University men's indoor track and field team concluded day two of the Blue & Orange Invitational on Saturday, January 26. The team took first place at the meet with 115 points and won three individual events, including both throws. The shot put was won by All-American shot put thrower
Hunter Logan (Fort Plain, NY/Herkimer College). Logan's best throw of the afternoon of 15.89m gave him the win and was his second-best throw this season. The runner-up in that event was teammate
Billie Mays III (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy), who threw 14.09m. The weight throw was won by
Justin Swavely (Rome, NY/RFA) with a best throw of 15.01m, and
Joshua Talbot (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) was third (14.40m). The men's 4x200m team of Andrew Hadasz,
Jonathan Simmons (Broadalbin, NY/Broadalbin-Perth),
Evan Smith (Baldwinsville, NY/Baker), and
Connor Dean (Taberg, Ny/Camden) posted a season-best time of 133.03m to take the win.
Andrew Wieder (Clinton, NY/Clinton) finished off the remainder of heptathlon events, which were the 60m hurdles, pole vault, and 1,000m. Wieder placed sixth in the 60m hurdles (9.88), fourth in pole vault (3.35m), and third in the 1,000m (3:06.54) to rack up a total of 3,916 points to place fourth overall. This bests his previous season's best total of 3,907 points from early December. The Pioneers posted some impressive times in the sprinting events on the afternoon. In the 60m, Andrew Hadasz ran a 7.06 in prelims to advance to finals, and ran that exact same time in the finals to place third overall. In the 400m, the freshman duo of
Tanner Warren (Mohawk, NY/Central Valley Academy) and Dean ran personal best times. Warren ran 50.74 to take fourth, and Dean took sixth place with a 51.88. The regional mark of 50.50 is much within reach for each of them. Warren also ran the 200m for the first time this season and clocked in at 23.19 to take seventh out of a field of over 70 runners. In high jump,
Theodore Tsamis (Richmondville, NY/Cobleskill-Richmondville) cleared 1.72m to place third overall, just shy of his personal best high jump of 1.75m on the season.
In The Polls: In the current Niagara Regional rankings that came out on January 29, the men's team holds the seventh spot with 143.28 points. The team dropped one spot from its previous sixth place ranking last week. The Pioneers remain the highest-ranked Empire 8 team, however, with Nazareth in 10th place with 97.53 as the next closest. Some of the teams top scorers include Andrew Hadasz (33.68),
Antwan Kelly (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) (23.95),
Hunter Logan (Fort Plain, NY/Herkimer College) (22.24), and
Andrew Wieder (Clinton, NY/Clinton) (23.51)
Runner Of The Week: Freshman
Tanner Warren (Mohawk, NY/Central Valley Academy) has been having a stellar indoor track season so far and did not slow down over the weekend. Warren earned Empire 8 Runner of the Week honors after running two personal bests in the 200m (23.19) and 400m (50.74). This now puts him fourth all-time in program history at 400m. In Empire 8 rankings, he ranks third in the 200m and second in the 400m.
One Lap, Two Laps, Don't Matter: In the 200 and 400-meter sprints, the Pioneers hold at least three top-five spots in each event. At 200 meters, Andrew Hadasz remains first (22.15), Warren is third (23.19), and
Ethan Kain (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) is fifth (23.39). In the 400, Warren is second (50.74),
Nolan Flynn (Bethel, CT/Bethel) is third (51.07),
Connor Dean (Taberg, Ny/Camden) is fourth (51.88), and
Evan Smith (Baldwinsville, NY/Baker) is fifth (52.21).
Bombs Away: So far this season in weight throw, the Pioneers have been stuffing the top five in conference rankings.
Antwan Kelly (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) holds the top spot (17.83m),
Justin Swavely (Rome, NY/RFA) is second (15.71m),
Spencer Borghardt (Melville, NY/St.Anthony's) is fourth (14.78m) and
Joshua Talbot (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) is fifth (14.48m). Kelly and Swavely are also regionally qualified.
Top 10 In the Region: Looking at regional rankings, the men's team has their fair share of top-10 athletes on the AARTFC leaderboards. Andrew Hadasz sits at fifth in the 200m with a time of 22.15 and is also the leadoff leg in the 4x200m team that also features
Jonathan Simmons (Broadalbin, NY/Broadalbin-Perth),
Evan Smith (Baldwinsville, NY/Baker), and
Connor Dean (Taberg, Ny/Camden) who is also ranked fifth with a time of 1:33.03. To no surprise,
Hunter Logan (Fort Plain, NY/Herkimer College) is inside the top five in the shot put with a season best throw of 16.11m and currently sits at fourth, and
Antwan Kelly (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) ranks third in the weight throw (17.83m). In heptathlon,
Andrew Wieder (Clinton, NY/Clinton) is in eighth place with a point total of 3916, which he just posted this past weekend.
Up Next: The team will be split into two groups and will compete at two different meets. For those selected, the Pioneers will travel out to Boston University to compete at the Boston University Valentine International on Saturday, February 10 with a time yet to be determined. The remainder of the team will compete at the CNY Valentine Alternative, also on Saturday, February 10 at the Todd and Jen Hutton Sports and Recreation Dome. The time for that meet is also yet to be determined.
