ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's track and field team posted a fifth-place showing at the East Coast Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships held this afternoon on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan College. The host Redhawks claimed the team championship for the second-straight year.
Juniors Jeremy Rushok (Akron, N.Y./Buffalo State College) and Matt VanDeMortel (Geneva, N.Y./Geneva) both claimed individual titles for the Wildcats. Rushok opened the day by placing first in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 33:41.11, finishing nearly 45 seconds faster than runner-up Joshua Johnson of Roberts Wesleyan. VanDeMortel placed first in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:57.55. Junior Nigel Cordulla (Cheektowaga, N.Y./John F. Kennedy) also turned in a solid effort in the 800 meters, as he placed fourth with a time of 2:00.25.
Junior Niko Jemmison (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Generation) established a new school-record in the 100-meter dash, as he became the first Daemen runner to post a sub-11 second time in the event and placed third with a time of 10.99. Sophomore Kevin Roginson (Amherst, N.Y./Willamsville North) also recorded a top-five finish in the 5,000 meters, as he placed third with a time of 16:13.21.
Additional highlights of the track events included a sixth place showing by freshman Jake Pronti (Pendleton, N.Y./Starpoint) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:41.28), a sixth place effort in the 400-meter hurdles (1:03.76) by freshman Jonny Schmidt (Clarence Center, N.Y./Clarence) and a seventh place showing by freshman Lucas Canales (Ithaca, N.Y./Ithaca) in the 1,500-meter run (4:17.30).
Daemen's relay teams also fared well. The 4x800 relay team of Canales, Pronti, Cordulla and VanDeMortel placed second with a time of 8:22.61. The 4x100 and 4x400 teams both placed fifth.
A school-record effort by sophomore Zach Laird (Alexander, N.Y./Alexander Central) in the javelin highlighted the field events. Laird placed second in the event with a throw of 46.72, breaking his own school record of 42.01 he set at the ROC City Classic on April 11. Laird also posted a fourth-place finish in the shot put (11.87 meters), while freshman Tanner Speer (Gasport, N.Y./Grand Island) finished sixth in the triple jump (11.67m).
Daemen returns to action next weekend when it takes part in the University at Buffalo Invitational.
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