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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
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MTRACK Highlander Recap

Men's Track & Field Lea Sobieraski Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Wildcat Men Set New School Records At Highlander Invitational

HOUGHTON, N.Y. – The Daemen College men's indoor track and field teams saw records in the 60-meter dash, 60-meter hurdles, and 600-meter run fall today at the Highlander Invitational hosted by Houghton College at Kerr-Pegula Fieldhouse.

Senior Zach Laird (Alexander, N.Y.) had an outstanding day, establishing a new record in the 60-meter hurdles, while also adding top three-finishes in the high-jump and shot put.  Laird crossed the finish line in 9.40 second in the preliminary 60m hurdles heat for a new Daemen benchmark.  In the final event, Laird finished seventh with a time of 9.75 seconds.  Laird tied the current record in the high jump with a leap of 1.73 meters, good for a third-place finish.  Finally, the senior standout placed third in the shot put with a heave of 12.97 meters.

Freshman Rodney Corbin (Williamsville, N.Y.) made a stellar rookie debut, bursting onto the scene with a record-breaking performance in the 60-meter dash.  The Western New York native ran a 7.06-second race in the preliminary round, eclipsing the previous Wildcat record of 7.12 seconds, established by Nike Jemmison at the ECC Championship meet in 2016.  In the final heat, he bettered his previous time nearly running a sub-7 race.  Corbin placed first with an impressive time of 7.01 seconds.  

Alonzo Rodriguez Spencer (Buffalo, N.Y.) was also in the record-setting mood today.  The rookie middle distance runner bested the school record in the 600-meter run with a time of 1:25.93.  Spencer placed fourth out of 19 entrants in his first meet as a Wildcat.  Spencer bettered Matt VanDeMortel's previous record of 1:26.08, which he established at this same competition last year.

Also on the track today, Josh Bodnar (Fillmore, N.Y.) placed third in the mile out of 25 participants, with a time of 4:39.06, which is better than both his finishes in this event a year ago.  Tyler Compo (Lancaster, N.Y.) and Justin Petrocy (Elma, N.Y.) each finished in eighth place in their individual events.  Compo ran a 38.25 in the 300-meter dash, while Petrocy ran a 55.29 in the 400-meter sprint.

The Wildcats' 4x400-meter relay team finished first out of four competing teams with a time of 3:35.89.  The squad comprised of Corbin, Compo, Jonathan Schmidt (Clarence Center, N.Y.) and Lucas Canales (Ithaca, N.Y.).

In field events, Sullivan Keller (Alden, N.Y.) and Shaquille Corrica (New York City, N.Y.) each added seventh place finishes.  Keller placed seventh out of 24 competitors in the shot put with a heave of 11.83 meters while Corrica placed seventh out of 16 in the long jump with a leap of 5.96 meters.  

Daemen continues its season at the Brockport Golden Eagle Invitational next Saturday, Jan. 28 with the meet slated to begin at 10 a.m.  

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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