Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team

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Men's Track & Field 2/18/2017 7:07:00 PM Lea Sobieraski, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Wildcat Men Set Two New School Records

Daemen finishes eighth in team rankings

BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The Daemen College men's indoor track and field team participated in the Golden Eagle Invite hosted by The College at Brockport today. It was the second meet this year the Wildcats have competed in at Brockport. New school records were set by the Wildcats in the 500-meter dash and 1,000-meter run at today's meet. Daemen finished eighth out of eight competing teams with 12 points in the standings.

Sophomore Jonny Schmidt (Clarence Center, N.Y./Clarence) bested his own previous record (1:10.47) in the 500-meter dash, slicing more than a second off with a time of 1:09.32. Schmidt finished in third place, giving the Wildcats 6 of their 12 points.

Also in the record-setting mood today was senior standout Matt VanDeMortel (Geneva, N.Y./Geneva), who established a new benchmark in the 1000-meter run. This marks the third school record he has set this year. VanDeMortel crossed the finish line in 2:34.67, good for a sixth place finish and 3 points, besting the previous time of 2:42.39. The previous record holder was Nigel Cordulla (Cheektowaga, N.Y./John F. Kennedy), who also ran the event today. The veteran athlete finished in eighth place (1 point) with what would have been a new record time (2:41.44) had VanDeMortel not come in ahead of him.

Junior Zach Lair (Alexander, N.Y./Alexander Central) was the sole Wildcat to place in the top eight in field events today. Laird finished seventh in the shot put with a heave of 12.55 meters, giving Daemen two points in his production.

Additional highlights from the track include Niko Jemmison's (Brooklyn, N.Y..Brooklyn Generation) ninth place finish in the 60-meter dash preliminaries, missing out on the finals by one spot. The sprinting standout crossed the finish line in 7.29 seconds. Lucas Canales (Ithaca, N.Y./Ithaca) added a 10^th place finish in the 3,000-meter run (9:34.16) and a 14^th place showing in the 1-mile (4:48.71).

In the field Jonathan Dygert (Springville, N.Y./Springville-Griffith Inst.) placed 12^th in the shot put with a throw of 10.99 meters. In the triple jump, Tanner Speer (Gasport, N.Y./Grand Island) leaped 12.08 meters, good for a 13^th place finish.

The Wildcats are back in action next weekend when they travel to Staten Island to compete in the East Coast Conference Championships slated for Friday, February 24.

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

Lucas Canales: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Nigel Cordulla: 5' 9"; Senior

Jonathan Dygert: 6' 0"; Senior

Niko Jemmison: 5' 10"; Senior

Jonny Schmidt: 5' 10"; Sophomore

Tanner Speer: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Matt VanDeMortel: 5' 10"; Senior

Lucas Canales: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Nigel Cordulla: 5' 9"; Senior

Jonathan Dygert: 6' 0"; Senior

Players Mentioned

Lucas Canales
: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Nigel Cordulla
: 5' 9"; Senior

Jonathan Dygert
: 6' 0"; Senior

Niko Jemmison
: 5' 10"; Senior

Jonny Schmidt
: 5' 10"; Sophomore

Tanner Speer
: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Matt VanDeMortel
: 5' 10"; Senior

Lucas Canales
: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Nigel Cordulla
: 5' 9"; Senior

Jonathan Dygert
: 6' 0"; Senior