Sprinter Tiffany Cycon and thrower Jonathan Dygert lead the Daemen indoor track and field teams into competition at Colgate on Saturday

Men's Track & Field 2/12/2016 12:00:00 PM

Daemen Track Squads Compete At Colgate This Weekend

THE LEAD: The Daemen College men's and women's indoor track & field teams head east on Interstate-90 to partake in the Colgate Class of '32 Invitational.

Saturday, February 13 (at Sanford Field House - Hamilton, N.Y.)
Colgate Class of '32 Invitational, 9 a.m.
MEN'S HEAT SHEETS | WOMEN'S HEAT SHEETS | LIVE TIMING & RESULTS

PARTICIPATING COLLEGIATE TEAMS: Daemen, Colgate, Roberts Wesleyan, Le Moyne, SUNY Delhi, SUNY Cobleskill, Hamilton, Mohawk Valley CC, Onondaga CC

DIVISION II DEBUT: Daemen successfully completed a three-year membership process and was approved for active membership status at the NCAA Division II level by the NCAA Membership Committee his past summer…the 2015-16 academic year will mark the first year Daemen will be eligible to compete in the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field National Championships.

HEAD COACH PAUL LAGNO: Paul Lagno is in his first season leading the Daemen indoor and outdoor track and field programs...a standout collegiate athlete, first at the State University of New York at Albany and later at Florida State University, Lagno took the reins of the Wildcats' programs last summer returning to his home state of New York following coaching stints at Northwood University and FSU...in addition to leading the track and field programs, Lagno also coaches the Daemen men's and women's cross country teams in the fall.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR (WOMEN): Fresh off setting a new team record in the 60-meter dash last week, freshman sprinter Tiffany Cycon is entered in that event again this week, along with the 200-meter dash...she's seeded fourth in the 60-meter dash and fifth in the 200-meter dash...the Wildcat women feature two of the top three seeds in the 500-meter dash in Lindsey Wood (No. 2 seed) and Brooke Nolan (No. 3 seed)...in mid-distance races, Brittany Denton (No. 7 seed) and Katherine Robinson (No. 9 seed) will compete in the 1,000-meter run, and Ashley Cheff is seeded seventh in the 1-mile run...in field events, freshman Kyra Kress, who has estblished new team records in the pole vault twice this season, is tied for the No. 2 seed with her previous high mark of 3.05 meters...also, Ashley Krol enters as the No. 3 seed in both the long jump and triple jump competitions...thrower Ellory Roberts is seeded fourth in both the shot put and weight throw.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR (MEN): Daemen will compete without top sprinter Niko Jemmison this week, putting the onus on the likes of Brandon Tytka, Steve George and Jonny Schmidt in this week's sprinting events...Tytka enters as Daemen's top seed in the 60-meter dash (No. 18) as is George in the 200-meter dash (No. 17)...Schmidt will compete in the 400-meter (No. 8 seed) and 500-meter (No. 3 seed) dashes...in mid-distances, freshman Joseph Tracy is entered as a top-six seed in both the 800-meter (No. 6) and 1,000-meter (No. 4) runs...in field events, the Wildcats will also likely be without pole vaulter Robert Ralyea, but throwers Zach Laird (No. 3) and Jonathan Dygert (No. 8) are both top-10 seeds in the shot put.

ECC PRESEASON POLLS: The East Coast Conference preseason polls for both men and women were announced last week from ECC headquarters in Central Islip, N.Y....both Daemen teams were picked seventh following a vote of the league's head coaches.

DONAHUE SNAGS ECC WEEKLY HONORS: After setting a new team record in the 5,000-meter run (17:15.05) and surpassing the NCAA Division II National Championships provisional qualifying time (17:28.78) for that distance at last week's SPIRE Indoor Track and Field Challenge, track star Mackenzie Donahue was named the ECC Women's Track Athlete of the Week for competitions held Feb. 1-7...Donahue, who already became the first-ever Daemen athlete to qualify and compete in an NCAA championship event at the Division II level last fall for cross country, is currently ranked 12th in the country at the 5,000-meter distance.

LAST TIME OUT - SPIRE INDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHALLENGE (FEB. 5-6, 2016): Records were falling last weekend, headlined by Mackenzie Donahue's performance in the 5,000-meter run, setting a new team record with her time of 17:15.05...Kyra Kress broke her own team record set just two weeks prior in the pole vault, clearing 3.05 meters, and her freshmen classmate Tiffany Cycon set a new benchmark in the 60-meter dash (8.18 seconds)...on the men's side, Jeremy Rushok set a new team record for the 5,000-meter run after completing the race in 15:47.38 to finish fourth.

WHAT'S NEXT: Daemen heads to Cornell University for the second time this season, this time for the Marc Deneault Invitational on Feb. 20 which will mark the Wildcats' final tune-up for the ECC Indoor Track and Field Championships....for a full look at what lies ahead, check out the complete 2015-16 indoor track and field schedule (men's schedule / women's schedule).

FOLLOW THE WILDCATS: Follow the Daemen College men's and women's indoor track and field teams on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics /@DaemenTRACK) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics) for complete coverage and breaking news throughout the year.

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Players Mentioned

Jeremy Rushok: 6' 0"; Junior

Joseph Tracy: 5' 10"; Freshman

Matt VanDeMortel: 5' 10"; Junior

Zach Laird: 5' 11"; Sophomore

Robert Ralyea: 6' 0"; Senior

Brandon Tytka: 6' 2"; Senior

Steve George: 5' 10"; Freshman

Jonny Schmidt: 5' 10"; Freshman

Sam Carro: 5' 5"; Freshman

Ashley Cheff: 5' 3"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Jeremy Rushok
: 6' 0"; Junior

Joseph Tracy
: 5' 10"; Freshman

Matt VanDeMortel
: 5' 10"; Junior

Zach Laird
: 5' 11"; Sophomore

Robert Ralyea
: 6' 0"; Senior

Brandon Tytka
: 6' 2"; Senior

Steve George
: 5' 10"; Freshman

Jonny Schmidt
: 5' 10"; Freshman

Sam Carro
: 5' 5"; Freshman

Ashley Cheff
: 5' 3"; Sophomore