CORTLAND, N.Y. – The Daemen College men's outdoor track and field team took part in the Cortland Please Stop Snowing Invitational hosted by SUNY Cortland today. Daemen finished third out of eight competing teams with 91.5 points.
Host Cortland claimed the title with a score of 213.8, while Buffalo State College finished second with 113.3 points.
Freshman standout Rodney Corbin (Williamsville, N.Y.) earned 16 points for the Wildcats. Corbin placed second out of 21 runners in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.24 seconds and sixth out of 28 runners in the 200-meter with a time of 23.38 seconds. The rookie running specialist made his attempt in field events for the first time, placing fourth out of 12 in the long jump with a leap of 6.55 meters.
Senior Shaquille Corrica (New York City, N.Y.), most known for his athletic career on the soccer field, broke not one but two school records this evening. Corrica registered a jump of 6.67 meters in the long jump competition, besting the previous team record (6.55 meters) set by Alex Reid at the Cardinal Last Chance Meet last May. Corrica finished second overall and then followed it up with a fifth-place finish in the triple jump. With a leap of 12.69 meters, Shaq eclipsed another Alex Reid record of 12.69 meters set in 2014 and 2015.
Additional highlights on the track this evening included the school-record effort by the Wildcat 4x100 relay team of Corbin, Corrica, Alonzo Rodriguez-Spencer (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Justin Petrocy (Elma, N.Y.). The quartet finished third with a time of 43.50 seconds, bettering the previous team record of 43.80 seconds set in 2014.
Sophomore Josh Bodnar (Fillmore, N.Y.), junior Lucas Canales (Ithaca, N.Y.) and freshmen Mike Swiniarski (Akron, N.Y.) all earned a top-ten finish in the 1500-meter run. Bodnar placed third (4:13.04), Canales finished fourth (4:13.29) and Swiniarski placed sixth (4:18.24) out of 23 runners. Rodriguez-Spencer and Tyler Compo (Lancaster, N.Y.) turned in solid efforts in the 400-meter, as Rodriguez-Spencer placed fifth out of 20 with a time of 51.38 seconds and Compo was eighth with a time of 52.75 seconds.
In field events, senior Zach Laird ( Alexander, N.Y.) and sophomore Sullivan Keller (Alden, N.Y.) both had outstanding performances for the Wildcats. Laird eclipsed his own school record in the javelin throw with a heave of 53.44 meters, good for a first place finish. Additionally, he placed second out of 16 throwers in the shot put with a throw of 12.89 meters. In the javelin throw, Keller placed second with a throw of 46.56 meters and followed it up with a sixth place showing in the shot put (12.35 meters). He also added a sixth place finish in the hammer throw (38.91 meters).
Up next, the Wildcats return to action next Saturday when they host the East Coast Conference Championships on Saturday, April 21st, marking the first time that Daemen has hosted a track and field competition since the inception of the program in 2011. The meet will take place at the newly built multi-purpose turf field stadium at Williamsville South High School.
For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen men's and women's track and field teams, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenTRACK on Twitter.
