GENESEO, N.Y. - The Daemen University men's track and field team opened its 2022 outdoor season today by taking part in the Geneseo Early Season Invitational. The event took place on the campus of SUNY Geneseo.

A program record effort by senior Erik Matthews (Galway, N.Y.) in the 110 meter hurdles and a strong showing by sophomore Jon Moote (Wilson, N.Y.) in the 5,000 meter run highlighted the day for the Wildcats.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Matthews actually set a new program record in the 110 meter hurdles twice during the day. He opened the day by placing fifth out of 21 entrants in the 110 meter hurdles qualifier. His time of 16.34 earned him one of eight spots in the event finals. It also broke the previous program record of 16:53 that he set at the 2021 East Coast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The record did not last long, as he would later post a new program-best time of 16:09 and place fifth in the event finals.
• Matthews also took part in the 400 meter hurdles and placed second overall and first among NCAA athletes with a time of 57.48—coming less than a second shy of breaking his program record of 57:25. Matthews now owns the top five times in program history in both the 110 meter hurdles and the 400 meter hurdles.
• Moote posted a top-10 effort in a very competitive 5,000 meter race, as he finished ninth out of 41 runners with a personal best time of 15:32.28. The effort was the second fastest time in the 5,000 meters in program history—just nine seconds shy of the program record of 15:23.41 set by Kevin Roginson at the 2017 Geneseo Early Season Invitational.
• Daemen had nine runners in the 1,500 meters. Junior Dominic Clementi (Barker, N.Y.) placed first among Daemen runners and 37th out of 105 entrants with a time of 4:14.35. It marked the first time in his career that ran the event. Sophomore Phil Ceccarelli (Hamburg, N.Y) and junior John Bruggman (Batavia, N.Y.) both posted personal best times in the 1,500. Ceccarelli placed 65th (4:23.66), while Bruggman finished 66th (4:25.26). Freshman Nolan Robillard (Hamburg, N.Y.) and sophomore David Schwinger (Buffalo, N.Y.) both ran the event for the first time and placed 72nd (4:26.93) and 77th (4:28.75) respectively. Robillard also took part in the 800 meters and placed first among four Daemen runners and 48th out of 84 runners overall with a personal best time of 2:08.93.
• Freshman Samir Laroussi (Clarence, N.Y.) ran the 100 meter dash for the first time in his brief career and placed first among Daemen runners and 25th out of 51 runners overall with a time of 11.91.
• Sophomores Hessen Bahgat (Fredonia, N.Y.) and Jake Carroll (Rochester, N.Y.) took part in the shot put. Bahgat placed 27th out of 43 throwers with a personal best toss of 10.49 meters, while Carroll placed 34th (10.11 meters).
• Daemen's 4x100 meter relay team of Laroussi, senior Zach Brainard (Lancaster, N.Y.), sophomore Tyrell Whitaker (Lancaster, N.Y.) and freshman Hayden Grover (Alden, N.Y. ) placed seventh out of nine teams with a time of 46.02.
• Daemen's 4x400 meter relay team of Matthews, Ceccarelli, Bruggman and Clementi placed second out of eight teams with a time of 3:33.20, just three seconds behind first place SUNY Geneseo (3:30.24). It ranks as the fifth fastest time in the 4x400 relay in program history—just six seconds shy of the program record (3:27.00) set in 2015.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats return to action next weekend (April 9) when they travel across town to take part in the University at Buffalo Spring Opener.

Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 18 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.

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