DYLAN FORMAN
Staff Writer
Prior to winter break, the indoor track and field teams opened their season at Kent State. With only a handful of runners competing, senior Zakk Hess stole the show by finishing second in the 5000m and first in the 3000m with two personal records.
In the 5K, Hess finished with an impressive time of 15:01. Then, the following day, he won the 3K with another personal best of 8:40. Hess was also named SUNYAC Male Track Athlete of the Week after competing at Kent State.
Several other runners competed at a high level at Kent State, which resulted in several top-five finishes. Sophomore Pat Shenal crossed the finish line in fourth place in the Mile in 4:28. In the 3000m, senior Chris Shartrand finished in sixth place in 8:58.
Over this past weekend, the teams traveled to Brockport to compete in the Golden Eagle Invitational. Leading the way for the men was junior Collin Mulcahy, who is coming off of a season-ending injury in cross country. Mulcahy won the 800m on Saturday in 1:57. Junior Nick Watson, freshman Bobby Cooper, and Hess all finished under the two-minute barrier in the race, as well.
Also running strong over the weekend was the distance medley relay team of Mulcahy, junior Kyle Collins, junior Connor Hayward and freshman Merlin Joseph. They were able to finish in second place behind only the ‘A’ team from the University of Rochester. The collective time of 10:34 was a strong opening time for a team that will surely be looking to compete for the SUNYAC crown come championship season.
The men also looked strong in field events with several top-tier finishes. Freshman Mitchel Paciga finished second in high jump by clearing 6’ 2”. Then, in the 60-meter hurdles, Paciga finished eighth with a personal best of 9.41 seconds in the finals. Freshman Rocky Caparro was fourth in the triple jump with a distance of 13.73 meters (45’ 0 ½”).
The women’s track and field team also competed at Brockport over the weekend. With several top-place finishers, the women were able to open their season on a strong note. In the shot put, senior Nicole Desens took first with a throw of 12.55 meters. The women also dominated pole vault with three freshman finishing in the top four of the event. With a height of 3.35 meters, freshman Julia Schreier took home first place with freshman Kristen Sawyer in second place. Finishing in fourth place was freshman Mikayla Capestrani with a height of 3.20 meters.
The women had several strong performances on the track, as well. In the 800m, sophomore Laura Morrison finished in second place with a strong time of 2:18. Morrison’s time has placed her second in the program’s history for the event. Junior Lauren Kotas ran well in the mile with a third place finish and a time of 5:22.
As a team, the men were able to finish sixth out of 14 teams that competed. The women finished in fifth place. The next time that both teams will step on the track to compete is next Saturday at Cornell University for the Robert Kane Invitational.