Baitey, after taking a year off from track & field, came back with vigor as he set a new personal best by over half a meter (just under two feet) in the triple jump on Saturday at the SUNY Geneseo Early Season Invitational. His previous best mark was 13.57m (44’-6.25”) set at the All-Atlantic Regional Track & Field Conference Outdoor Championships at SUNY Cortland in May of 2024. Baitey hit his new personal best hop-skip-jump of 14.05m (46’-1.25”) on his final attempt of the day to not only break 14.00m and set a new personal best, but to vault over the top mark going into the sixth round of 13.87m (45’-6.25”) held by Geneseo’s Chris Desiderio. The mark not only won the event but also qualified for AARTFC’s and is now seventh in the region to lead the Empire 8. Baitey, on Saturday, also added a silver to go along with his gold place finish when he jumped 6.71m (22’-0.25”) in the long jump, less than seven inches away from the first-place finisher Dennis Bobbitt and his mark of 6.88m (22’-7”).
