ALFRED, N.Y. - Junior middle distance runner
Matt VanDeMortel (Geneva, N.Y./Geneva) turned in the best performance of his career to date, leading the Daemen College men's outdoor track and field team to a second place finish in the final standings at the Alfred State Invitational today as the Wildcats made their 2016 season debut at Pioneer Stadium. Daemen accumulated 114 points in the team standings, finishing behind meet host ASU which racked up 220 points. The second place finish is Daemen's highest-ever finish in a scored meet.
VanDeMortel amassed a team-high 18 total points in the meet. He was awarded 10 points for winning the 1500 meter run with a time of 4:23.15. He added eight points by virtue of his second place finish in the 800 meter run, finishing that race in 2:03.29.
The 1500 meter run proved to be a strong event for the Wildcats. After VanDeMortel, Daemen runners came in third, fourth, seventh and eighth to score an additional 14 points in the event. That group was led by
Nigel Cordulla (Cheektowaga, N.Y./John F. Kennedy) and
Kevin Roginson (Amherst, N.Y./Williamsville North) who ran respective times of 4:27.22 and 4:28.70. Freshmen
Lucas Canales (Ithaca, N.Y./Ithaca) and
Jake Pronti (Pendleton, N.Y./Starpoint) rounded out the Wildcat scorers in the event.
Daemen also got solid outings on the track from sprinters
Niko Jemmison (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Generation),
Jonny Schmidt (Clarence Center, N.Y./Clarence) and
Drew Greenaway (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Generation). Jemmison finished second in the 200 meter dash (23.43 seconds) and fifth in the 400 meter dash (55.63 seconds) to add 12 total points to DC's total. Schmidt scored six points with his third place showing in the 400 meter dash (53.84 seconds), while Greenaway came in seventh in the 200 meter dash (25.39 seconds) and sixth in the 400 meter dash (57.28 seconds).
Veteran long distance runner
Jeremy Rushok (Akron, N.Y./Buffalo State College) added a third place finish, and the corresponding six points, in the 5000 meter run with a time of 16:41.99.
The lone team record to fall today came in field events where thrower
Jonathan Dygert (Springville, N.Y./Springville-Griffith) established a new benchmark in the javelin. Dygert's long throw of 39.24 meters eclipsed the previous mark of 36.08 meters det by teammate
Zach Laird (Alexander, N.Y./Alexander Central) at the ROC City Classic meet last season. Dygert finished third in today's competition, while adding sixth place finishes in both the shot put and hammer throw.
Laird put up eight points with his second place showing in the shot put, engineering a long toss of 12.31 meters. He was also sixth in the javelin.
Daemen returns to action with this year's version of the ROC City Classic hosted by Nazareth College on Saturday, April 9.
