UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's outdoor track and field team looks to repeat as champions as the team readies to take on the Empire 8 Championship, at host site SUNY Brockport on Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3. Start time on Friday is set for 1:30pm, while start time on Saturday is set for 10am.
 
Follow Along: Live results can be found here, courtesy of Leone Timing. Live video of the meet can be found here. 
 
Last Season: The Pioneers secured last season's championship after collecting 213 team points, edging out second place Nazareth by 11 points.
 
Championship Schedule: Friday's events schedule will consist of the 3000m steeplechase, the 400m, the 4x800m relay, the 10000m, long jump, hammer throw, pole vault, and the javelin throw. Saturday, the rest of the meet will continue with the 4x100m relay, the 1500m, 110m hurdles, 100m, 800m, 400m hurdles, 200m, 5000m, 4x400m relay, shot put, triple jump, discus throw, high jump, and the men's decathlon. 
 
Last Week's Recap: The Utica University men's outdoor track & field team showed out at the RPI Capital District Classic, placing third overall out of 10 teams. Ellis Urgent (Cornwall, NY/Cornwall Central), Hunter Logan (Fort Plain, NY/Herkimer College) and Spencer Borghardt (Melville, NY/St.Anthony's) each placed first overall in their respective events. Borghardt placed first overall in hammer throw with a 55.76m throw, Logan had a season-best finish, placing first in shot put with a 16.30m throw, and Urgent stamped a first-place finish and personal best in long jump with a 7.19m leap.
 
Field Athlete of the Week: Ellis Urgent (Cornwall, NY/Cornwall Central) earns Empire 8 Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week, as announced by the league on Monday. Urgent placed first in long jump at the RPI Capital District Classic. He jumped 7.19m and is now ranked No. 17 nationally. Urgent has placed first in the long jump in three of the last four meets.
 
Top Tens: Several Pioneers found their way onto the top-ten lists last time out. Urgent is now second all-time in the long jump after his 7.19m performance. Tanner Warren (Mohawk, NY/Central Valley Academy) has now moved into second on the leaderboard in the 400m after a 48.82 time last weekend. Borghardt has solidified his place at second on the leaderboard in the hammer throw after a 55.76m throw. Bennett Melita (Johnstown, NY/Fonda Fultonville) is now third all time in the 1500m, clocking in at 3:57.66. Blake Gannon (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen) has cracked into the top five in the hammer throw, sliding into fourth place with a 52.10m throw. Forest Martin (Poland, NY/Poland Central) is now seventh all time in the 800m, after finishing with a time of 1:57.87. Tobias Jeralds (Canaan, NY/Chatham Central) is now seventh on the all time leaderboard after a 4:05.95 finish in the 1500m. Chris Ganley (Pine Bush, NY/Pine Bush) now finds himself among the top fastest men in Utica history, clocking in a 11.00 time in the 100m to fall into seventh place. Tristan Vargo (East Aurora, NY/Orchard Park) is now eighth all time in the 400m after finishing with a time of 50.42. 
 
Qualified: With the AARTFC Regional Championship on the horizon, the Pioneer squad is starting to take shape. 14 athletes have qualified in 10 different events. Athletes from Utica will compete in the 200m, 400m, 4x100m, 4x400m, 1500m, 300m steeplechase, long jump, high jump, shot put, hammer throw, and decathlon. 
 
Up Next: The Pioneers will have one meet in between the Empire 8 Championship and the AARTFC Regional Championship, the Farley Inter Regional, hosted by Williams College on Friday, May 9 and Saturday, May 10.