Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team

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Men's Track & Field 4/9/2017 8:24:00 PM Lea Sobieraski, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Wildcat Men Continue Outdoor Campaign At ROC City Classic

Laird Sets New Wildcat Benchmark

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Daemen College men's track and field team continued their 2017 outdoor season today by taking part in the ROC City Classic hosted by Nazareth College.

Senior middle distance standout Matt VanDeMortel (Geneva, N.Y./Geneva) led the way for the Wildcats, turning in the lone top-five finish on the track. In the 800-meter run, VanDeMortel finished fourth out of 104 contenders, the largest field of competitors at today's meet. He finished the race in 1:57.14, two seconds faster than his time at last weekend's meet (1:59.82). Teammates Jonny Schmidt (Clarence Center, N.Y./Clarence) and Nigel Cordulla (Cheektowaga, N.Y./John F. Kennedy) placed 45^th and 54^th respectively, with only seven seconds separating VanDeMortel and Cordulla's times.

In the 400-meter dash, the freshman duo of Laban Korir (Bomet, Kenya/Litein) and Tyler Compo (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) both turned in solid efforts. Korir finished 23 out of 69 entrants with a time of 52.55 seconds, while Compo placed 29^thcrossing the finish line in 52.88 seconds.

Junior field event specialist Zach Laird (Alexander, N.Y./Alexander Central) broke his own school-record for the second straight week en route to a fourth-place showing in the javelin. His throw of 50.63 meters topped his previous record of 49.10 meters, which he established at last weekend's meet. Laird was named the East Coast Conference Field Athlete of the week for his record-breaking performance at the Geneseo Early Spring invitational.

Senior Jonathan Dygert (Sprinville, N.Y./Sprinville) also turned in stellar performance on the field. Dygert finished tenth in the shot put with a heave of 44.58 meters. Freshman Sullivan Keller (Alden, N.Y./Alden) had the top performance for Daemen in the shot put. With a throw of 11.21 meters Keller finished 23^rd out of 45 entrants.

The meet today, which featured 28 collegiate teams' rankings from Division III to Division I, was not scored for team standings.

Next weekend the Wildcats travel to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania to compete in the 2017 Bison Outdoor Class, hosted by Bucknell University (Friday-Saturday, April 14-15).

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

Tyler Compo: 5' 10"; Freshman

Nigel Cordulla: 5' 9"; Senior

Jonathan Dygert: 6' 0"; Senior

Laban Korir: 5' 6"; Freshman

Zach Laird: 5' 11"; Junior

Jonny Schmidt: 5' 10"; Sophomore

Matt VanDeMortel: 5' 10"; Senior

Sullivan Keller: 6' 3"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Tyler Compo
: 5' 10"; Freshman

Nigel Cordulla
: 5' 9"; Senior

Jonathan Dygert
: 6' 0"; Senior

Laban Korir
: 5' 6"; Freshman

Zach Laird
: 5' 11"; Junior

Jonny Schmidt
: 5' 10"; Sophomore

Matt VanDeMortel
: 5' 10"; Senior

Sullivan Keller
: 6' 3"; Freshman