Geneseo Set to Host 2014 SUNYAC Track and Field Championships

SUNY Geneseo will be hosting the Outdoor Track & Field State University of New York State Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Championships this year. The event will begin Friday at 2pm and end Saturday with the awards ceremony set for 3:45pm. 

The location of the SUNYAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships is predetermined and rotates every year. The cost is $6 per adult and $3 for children ages 6-12. SUNYAC college students with ID and kids five and under are free.

Last year it was the Cortland Red Dragon's year as both the men and women's team won the SUNYAC Championship. The Cortland men, ranked 25th in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) rankings, have now won the championship back-to-back while the Cortland's women's team is showing their true dominance winning three years in a row.

Since 2001 Cortland and Geneseo have been the only teams to win the SUNYAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships for both men and women except for Brockport women who won it in 2009. Before that, the Fredonia men won the crown for 20 years in a row.

In the winter it was Buffalo state for the men and Cortland for the women who took home the gold. Both teams hope to continue that trend and win the SUNYAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships as well. Will we see a new champion that has never been crowned before? Tune in May 2-3 to see how many different championship records will be broken this year? 

SUNYAC Men's and Women's Track and Field Championshp Program (PDF)

SUNYAC Men's and Women's Track and Field Results

Below is a quick preview of all the events happening this weekend, and what teams and athletes will be considered the favorite to win the event based on their regular season times and distances.

Men:

100m: Melique Garcia, last year's runner up from Cortland, had the top time of the regular season 100 meter dash with a time of 10.67.  He is followed closely by Joe Carr of Oneonta (10.81) and Dorian Hayden of Brockport (10.85). 

200m: This race should be between athletes Cory Cox (Buffalo state) and Joe Carr (Oneonta) as both will be looking to win the gold medal.  Cox has the top time this year with a time of 21.71 followed closely by Carr who finished with 21.99. Melique Garcia of Cortland and Jake Alviene from Oneonta will look to finish in the top three also.

400m: Last year's winner of this event Matthew Wagenhauser will hope to make it two years in a row as he has the top time this year in the 400 meter dash, with a time of 48.53, which is almost a full second over Micah Patterson of Oneonta.  Jerel Williams (Cortland), Tom Wheeler (Oneonta), and Andy Baldwin (Oswego) will all look to make an appearance in the top three as well.

800m: Alex Ngabo of Buffalo State had the top regular season time in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:54.58.  He is followed closely by Tim Odin of Cortland (1:155.01), Buffalo State's Jiak Bumkuth (1:55.07), and Benjamin Schwartz of Geneseo (1:55.41). 

1500m: Just like the 800 meter run Alex Ngabo has the best time in the 1500 meter as well with a time of 3:55.69 a full second better than teammate Jiak Bumkuth whose time was 3:56.83. Teammates from Cortland Tim Odin and Chris Landi, as well as Travis Briggs of Geneseo will fight to get a top three spot.

5000m: Tom Hopkins of Cortland, last year's winner of the 5000 meter run, is once again the heavy favorite to repeat this year as he had the best time this year at 14:42.04, which is five seconds better than Tom Clark of Geneseo.  Charles Remillard (Oneonta), Gary Messina (Brockport), and Mike Didas (Oneonta) look to finish in the top three as well.

10,000m: With last year's winner gone, we will have a new champion in the 10,000 meter run.  Tom Hopkins of Cortland looks to be the favorite heading into the event as he has by far the best time this year at 30:24.51, which is 14 seconds better than Charles Remillard who has the second best time this season.

110m Hurdle: A new champion will emerge for the 110 meter hurdle this year and this one should be an exciting event to watch as four athletes are all within a second of each other.  Jake Alviene of Oneonta had the best time this season at 14.45, followed closely by Nick Avossa (Cortland) whose time was 14.78.  Samuel Taft (Brockport) and Zachary Zienewicz (Cortland) both have times of 14.91 in this event as well. 

400m Hurdle: Rob Farrell (Oneonta) and Samuel Taft (Brockport) look to put up a fight this year.  Farrell had the best time this season at 54.91 with Taft right behind him with a time of 55.02.  Rob Schenke and Eric Wong of Cortland will both hope to play spoiler and win the 400 meter hurdle also.

3000m Steeplechase:  Ryan Mitch of Cortland had the best time for the regular season with a time of 9:40.90, which is a little less than four seconds better than John Panus of Geneseo who had a time of 9:44.56.  Brendan Wortner (Geneseo), Alex Ngabo (Buffalo State) and Chris Shartrand will all hope to finish in the top three also.

4 X 100 Relay: Last year it was Oneonta who won this relay, and this year they have a chance to too repeat.  Oneonta, Buffalo State and Brockport all have the best regular season times this year.  It is Brockport who has the best time though at 42.13 followed by Buffalo State (42.42), with Oneonta (42.58) not too far behind.  This one should be a great one to watch.

4 X 400 Relay: For this relay it is the Oswego State Lakers who have the best time this year, with a time of 3:21.65.  The other two schools hoping to get top three finishes include Buffalo State whose time is 3:23.24, and defending champions of the event the Red Dragons of Cortland who have a time of 3:24.39.  Who will win the 4x400 Relay?

High Jump: With last year's winner of this event Luke Taverne (Geneseo) fourth this year in the regular season with a jump of 1.85m we may see a new champion in the high jump.   Phil Longo had the best jump this season at 1.93m.  Ron Major (Buffalo State) is second with a jump of 1.90m, both athletes finished in the top five last year as well. It will be interesting to see who will come out on top at SUNYAC's.

Pole Vault: Last year's runner up of this event Cameron Shaughnessy hopes to win his first SUNYAC pole vault gold medal this year as he is the heavy favorite to win with a jump of 4.53 meters.  The other athletes should be fighting for a top three finish as Tom Calandra (Cortland), Ben Goebel (Fredonia), Whitman Oehler-Marx (Brockport) and Connor Ten Eyck (Cortland) all have jumps of 1.35 meters.

Long Jump: With three athletes between three tenths of each other this long jump will be one of the most enjoyable events to watch.  Glen Forsythe of Cortland had the best regular season jump with a jump of 7.23 meters.  He is followed closely by Cory Cox (Buffalo State), last year's runner up in this event that has a jump of 7.22 meters this year. Last but not least is Richard Pete (Buffalo State) who is a teammate of Cox who has a jump of 4.20 meters.

Triple Jump: Cortland Red Dragon athlete Glen Forsythe may have this event locked up as no one has even come close to matching his best jump this season at the triple jump which is a 14.70 meters.  The next closet is Richard Pete of Buffalo state who won this event last year. His jump this season was 14.53 meters.  Ray Richardson of Buffalo State will also hope to crack the top three also.

Shot Put: J.D Roth of Oneonta looks to make it back-to-back gold medals in the shot put as he is the big favorite to win this event yet again.  He has a half of a meter lead on everyone else in the competition this season.

Discus Throw: Last year's runner up Joe Fox of Oneonta will look to win the event this year as he had the best throw this season at 47.83 meters.  Other contenders for the top three include Darius Favors of Brockport and Tyler Prendergast of Cortland.

Hammer Throw: As winner of this event last year Oneonta Red Dragon Pat Weinert is looking to do it again as he had the best throw this season at 58.94 which is over two meters better than his teammate J.D. Roth which should be his closest competition.

Javelin Throw: Last year's runner up Darius Favors (Brockport) looks to seek his first gold in the Javelin Throw, but will have to beat out some stiff competition in order to do so.  Favors had the best throw this season at 51.60 meters.  He is followed by Charles Millar of Cortland (50.02m) and Matthew McDorman of Oswego (49.93).  This one could be a close competition to see who will come out on top.

Women:

100m: With last year's winner of this event gone a new champion will emerge.  This one will be a great one to watch as any athlete could win.  Anna Dambacher of Fredonia had the best time this season at 12.29 which is only one tenth better than Shuntone Pricher of Buffalo State. Other women who look to be in the mix also include Amanda Moore and Sarah Bonnell of Cortland who have time of 12.38 and 12.40 respectively, and Jess Huber of Plattsburgh whose time is 12.46.

200m:  This is another event that will come right down to the wire as there are many women within tenths of a second of each other.  Shuntone Pricher of Buffalo State had the best time for this event this season with a time of 25.29.  She is followed by Jess Huber (Plattsburgh) whose time is 25.40.  Others hoping to finish in the top three include Anna Dambacher (Fredonia), Brittany Cocchieri (Oneonta), and Taylor Hudson of Cortland.

400m: Africa Harper won this event last year, but is number five for best time this season, which means we could have a new champion of the 400 meter dash.  Sasa Vann (Buffalo State), last year's runner up, had the best time this season at 57.62 which is a little bit better than her teammate Jazlyn Porter who had the second best time at 58.11.  Marissa Pariseau and Katie Bott, teammates from Oswego will look to have a top three finish also.

800m: Defending Champion Katie Bott of Oswego will hope to make it back-to-back years as champion as she had the top time this season with a time of 2:15.94.  Kailyn Balzano will try to play spoiler though and win her first gold for the 800 meter run at SUNYAC's as her time was 2:15.97.  This one could be a photo finish.

1500m: With the winner of the 1500 meter run graduated we will have a new winner.  Keira Wood of Geneseo looks to be the favorite heading into the event, as she had the best time during the regular season at 4:37.79.  Kayla Blomback of Cortland will try to give Wood a scare as will Danielle Kennedy of Oneonta.

5000m: Danielle Kennedy of Oneonta seems to be the heavy favorite heading into Saturday for the 5000 meter run as her time of 16:58.49 is almost 20 second better than the next runner.  Rachel Malone (Brockport), Joanna Castrogivanni (Geneseo), and Kelly Driscoll (Plattsburgh) will aim to place in the medals.

10,000m: Danielle Kennedy (Oneonta) once again sees her name on top of the list for best time of the regular season, as her time in the 10,000 meter run was 35:55.79, about ten seconds better than second place runner Alyssa Knott of Geneseo, whose time was 36:05.51.  Other contenders that could make a run for the gold this year; include last year's winner Rachel Malone (Brockport) and Kelly Driscoll of Plattsburgh.

100m Hurdle: The winner of the 100 meter hurdles looks like it will be between two teammates of Cortland.  Lisa Bodratti had the best time this season of 14.73, but Taylor Hudson will not go down without a fight as she is right behind her with a time of 14.86.  This one should be a fun one to watch.

400m Hurdle: Last year's winner Allison Hoh of Geneseo looks to repeat as champion as her time is 1:04.88, but that is not the best time this season.  That belongs to Amanda Knox of Oneonta whose time is 1:04.73.  Knox will try to stop a repeat of Hoh and win her first gold at SUNYAC's. 

3000m Steeplechase: Two freshman from Geneseo have the best time this season by a large margin.  Jacquelin Huben is number one with a time of 11:08.92, which is better than her teammate Sara Rosenzweig whose time was 11:20.03.  Regardless a Geneseo athlete will be fighting to take home the gold.

4 x 100 Relay: Buffalo State will have a battle on their hands if they hope to repeat as champions in this event as there are a number of hungry teams looking to win.  Cortland had the best time this season at 48.07 which is a little bit better than Buffalo State's which is 48.44.  Fredonia, Brockport and Geneseo will all be fighting for a top three finish as well.

4 x 400 Relay: Buffalo State has the best time this season in the 4x400 Relay with a time of 3:53.35.  The defending champion of this event the Cortland Red Dragons are in second with a time of 3:58.11.  They will have to have a lot better time in order to win this event back-to-back.

High Jump: Last year's champion Taylor Hudson (Cortland) is going to have to battle on her hands if she wants to repeat as champion as she had the second best jump this season at 1.70 meters.  The leader is JoAnna Heath of Geneseo who jump is 1.72.  This one should be a great one to watch to see if the freshman Heath can win her first gold, or if the veteran Hudson can win again.

Pole Vault: This could come down to a match between two as Marcy Merritt of Brockport, and Kelly Hugo of Cortland look to strike gold.  Merritt has the best jump this season at 3.57 meters which a seventh tenth better than Hugo's (3.50). 

Long Jump: Taylor Hudson of Cortland looks to be the odds on favorite to win the long jump. Her jump of 5.69 meters is leaps over the next athlete who is Alex Kober of Oneonta, whose jump was 5.45.  Last year's champion Sarah Bonnell (Cortland) will look to try to place in the top three.

Triple Jump: The Triple Jump could be a fun one to watch as there are a lot of female athletes looking to win this event.  Hailey Smith of Brockport had the best jump this season at 11.24 meters, which is a little better than Emily Cummiskey of Fredonia whose jump was 11.21 meters.   Other athletes fighting for a top three finish include Treasure Glymph (Buffalo State), Alex Kober (Oneonta) and JoAnna Heath (Geneseo).

Shot Put: With Nicole Jones of Brockport gone due to graduation we will have a new winner of the shot put.  Nicole Desens of Fredonia hopes to be the new champion as she had the best throw this season at a mark of 12.10 meters.  Valerie Vancol of Cortland is the next closest to Desens at 12.03 meters. 

Discus Throw: Nicole Desens of Fredonia hopes to be the new champion in the Discus Throw as well as she had the best throw this season at a mark of 43.00 meters.  Valerie Vancol of Cortland is the next closest to Desens at 42.21 meters.   Amanda Gadway of Plattsburgh will hope to finish in the top three as well.

Hammer Throw: Amanda Gadway of Plattsburgh had the best hammer throw this season at 47.09.  She is considered the favorite this year as Elyssa Slawinski of Geneseo (44.56), and Loren Metzger of Fredonia (44.24) will hope to play spoiler and win the gold for themselves.

Javelin Throw: The Javelin Throw will be between Taylor Hudson (Cortland), who had the best throw during the regular season which was 33.04 meters, and last year's champion Mallory Eckert (Oswego) whose throw was 32.82.  Will Eckert be able to win back-to-back gold for the Javelin Throw?  Or will Taylor Hudson come away with gold in another event? 

Tune in Saturday at Geneseo to find out who takes what medals, and what SUNYAC team's come out on top.