WILLIAMSTOWN, MA - The Utica University Men's Track & Field team headed to the site of this year's AARTFC Championships this weekend in order to give some athletes the chance to book a return trip with a last second qualification. Entering the two-day Farley Inter Regional, the team hoped to add more AARTFC qualifiers to their ranks, getting more chances at AARTFC glory during next week's event.
 
Lots of Pioneers cemented their qualification to the All-Atlantic Region Championships over the past two days, including Ellis Urgent (Cornwall, NY/Cornwall Central), Eddy Corporan (Poughkeepsie, NY/Roy C Ketcham), Tobias Jeralds (Canaan, NY/Chatham Central), and numerous other Utica athletes.
 
Urgent produced a third-place finish in the 400m, finishing with a time of 48.78. The freshman's fantastic finish was good enough for second all-time in program history for the 400m, slotting in just behind Alex Luckoo's record time of 48.61 which was set in 2018. Urgent's time also passed the AARTFC qualification threshold, gaining him access to the event during next week's meet.
 
Tristan Vargo (East Aurora, NY/Orchard Park) and Evan Smith (Baldwinsville, NY/Baker) also competed in the 400m over the weekend, recording 24th and 25th place finishes respectively with times of 51.07 and 51.16.
 
Corporan confirmed his qualification in the 800m during the weekend, achieving a fourth-place finish with a time of 1:55.91. The stellar sophomore's mark was good for fourth-best in outdoor program history.
 
Fellow sophomore Forest Martin (Poland, NY/Poland Central) competed in the 800m as well, earning a time of 1:59.60.
 
The trio of Bennett Melita (Johnstown, NY/Fonda Fultonville), Tobias Jeralds (Canaan, NY/Chatham Central), and Anthony Leotta (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollows Hills West) showed out in the 3,000 steeplechase, as they gained finishes of second, 12th, and 14th respectively. Melita kept up his program-best pace in the event, nearly capturing gold as he posted a time 9:14.76. Jeralds wasn't far behind though, as the Chatham Central graduate notched a time of 9:38.20, good for fourth all-time in outdoor program history. Leotta had a great outing in his own right, recording a time of 9:51.91. Melita and Jeralds qualified for the AARTFC iteration of the event which will be held next week.
 
Jeralds also entered into the javelin throw, launching a 48.00 on his first attempt to grab eighth place and notch the sixth best toss in outdoor program history.
 
Also entering a program top ten was Zachary Brown (Milford, NY/Milford Central) who entered into the 5,000, finishing with a time of 15:49.58, good for eight in outdoor program history for the event.
 
A plethora of Pioneer field athletes also grabbed AARTFC qualifying marks as well, with Hunter Logan (Fort Plain, NY/Herkimer College) and a trio of hammer hurlers all gaining access to the future event.
 
Fresh off achieving his career sweep in the Empire 8, Logan kept up his normal dominance in the shot put, snagging first place with a toss of 16.10m. The Pioneers' most decorated individual athlete will test his mettle against the best in Division III over the next few weeks.
 
In the hammer throw, the trio of Spencer Borghardt (Melville, NY/St.Anthony's), Joshua Talbot (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy), and Blake Gannon (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen) finished in second, fourth, and fifth respectively. The two juniors, Borghardt and Talbot, landed throws of 54.32 and 51.05, while the freshman Gannon launched a 50.82. All three athletes qualified for the hammer throw at next week's event.
 
The rookie Gannon also entered into the Discus along with Michal McNeil. Gannon grabbed an 18th place finish, launching a throw of 37.40m, while McNeil wasn't too far behind, logging 20th place with a 36.22m toss.
 
A trio of Pioneers participated in jumping events, with Justin Couture (Sherrill, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) competing in the triple jump alongside Kaiden McCaskill (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) and Louis Pinto (Clinton, NY/Clinton) who entered into the high jump.
 
The freshman Couture gained a 13th place finish with a jump of 12.78m. In the other event, McCaskill and Pinto finished in fourth and sixth respectively, with both athletes achieving a high jump of 1.92m.
 
Elsewhere, the two Shane's; Shane Tinney (Whitesboro, NY/Oriskany) and Shane Wallace (Endicott, NY/Union-Endicott) each competed in the 100m, with the former finding a time of 11.37 and the latter logging a finish of 11.44. Tinney also took on the 200m, achieving a time of 23.71.
 
Three underclassmen competed in the 110m hurdles. The freshman pair of Cade Tavares (Endicott, NY/Union-Endicott) and Harley Hugunine (Oneida, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) cemented finishes of 15th and 17th, grabbing times of 16.05 and 17.04. Sophomore Theodore Tsamis (Richmondville, NY/Cobleskill-Richmondville) was the third Pioneer in the event, getting 18th place with a time of 17.36.
 
Finally, in the 400m, more underclassmen took part as Timothy Jeralds (Canaan, NY/Chatham Central) and Riley Smith () finished in 15th and 17th respectively, with times of 1:00.56 and 1:07.46.
 
The Pioneers who qualified for this year's AARTFC meet will compete during next week's championships. That meet will take place back at Williams College, getting underway on Wednesday, May 14th and Thursday, May 15th.