Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team

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Men's Track & Field 1/28/2017 6:32:00 PM Lea Sobieraski, Athletics Communications Graduate Assistant

Wildcat Men Compete At Brockport

BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The Daemen College men's indoor track and field team participated in the Brockport Golden Eagle Multi and Invitational hosted by The College at Brockport today. It was the second meet in as many weeks for the Wildcats following last week's Highlander Invitational. Multiple Wildcats saw top-ten finishes in their respective events at today's competition. Daemen finished eighth out of 10 competing teams today with 29 points in the team standings.

Senior Matt VanDeMortel (Geneva, N.Y./Geneva) established a new benchmark in the 800-meter run while racing to a second-place finish today. VanDeMortel, who got into the record books in the 600-meter run last week, bettered the previous team record in the 800-meter run (1:59.13) by two seconds with a time of 1:57.56. The previous record was set by Zac Ekdahl at the East Coast Conference Championships on February 22, 2014.

Also in the record-setting mood today was sophomore Jonny Schmidt (Clarence Center, N.Y./Clarence), who bested his own record (1:12.25) in the 500-meter dash, slicing two seconds off. Schmidt finished 14th overall today with a new Wildcat record of 1:10.47.

VanDeMortel and Schmidt were also two members of Daemen's 4x400-meter relay team alongside Justin Petrocy (Elma, N.Y./University at Buffalo) and Mike Capestrani (Jamestown, N.Y./Jamestown). The group finished 7th overall with a time of 3:36.40, just two seconds shy of the current team record (3:34.86).

Senior sprinter Niko Jemmison (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Generation), the owner of four individual Daemen records, had a solid showing at today's meet as well. Jemmison won his preliminary heat of the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.24 seconds. He went on to finish third out of 44 competitors overall, with a better time of 7.21 seconds in the event finals. In the 200-meter dash, Jemmison sprinted to a fourth-place finish with a time of 23.42 seconds.

Also on the track, freshman Josh Bodnar (Fillmore, N.Y./Fillmore) made his debut in the 1-mile run for the Wildcats. He finished eighth overall (out of 35 entrants) with a time of 4:40.72. Petrocy, a redshirt-junior, finished ninth in the 400-meter dash, sprinting the event in 54.13 seconds.

Daemen is back in action at the Jim Wuske Invitational, scheduled for next Saturday, February 4. The meet will take place on the campus of the University of Mount Union located in Alliance, Ohio.

For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen men's and women's track and field teams, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenTRACK on Twitter.

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Players Mentioned

Niko Jemmison: 5' 10"; Senior

Jonny Schmidt: 5' 10"; Sophomore

Matt VanDeMortel: 5' 10"; Senior

Niko Jemmison: 5' 10"; Senior

Jonny Schmidt: 5' 10"; Sophomore

Matt VanDeMortel: 5' 10"; Senior

Players Mentioned

Niko Jemmison
: 5' 10"; Senior

Jonny Schmidt
: 5' 10"; Sophomore

Matt VanDeMortel
: 5' 10"; Senior

Niko Jemmison
: 5' 10"; Senior

Jonny Schmidt
: 5' 10"; Sophomore

Matt VanDeMortel
: 5' 10"; Senior