STATEN ISLAND/ROCHESTER, NY – The Alfred University men's track & field team sent some of their Saxons to the Fastrack National Invite at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex, a banked 200-meter track & field complex, filled with teams from across the country, and the rest to Rochester Institute of Technology on Friday evening.
 
From Staten Island, Jason Crocker (Oreland, PA/Springfield Township) led the way with his throwing events. He finished 20^th in the shot put with a distance of 12.88m (42'-3.25") out of the 55 throwers in the event. He was right behind teammate, Kenneth Berlin (Erie, PA/Harbor Creek) in the weight throw, with Berlin taking 24^th with a distance of 12.33m (40'-5.5") and Crocker throwing 11.96m (39'-3") for 26^th out of 47 throwers.
 
Riley Ciamarra (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas) and John Wendt (Lewiston, NY/Lewiston-Porter) were neck-and-neck in the 60-meter dash, finishing 80^th and 81^st, respectively with Empire 8 times of 7.52 and 7.53.
 
"We had a good showing despite some very stiff competition. Our goal was to have the athletes get a feel of what this level of competition is like, and they did a great job rising to the challenge," Head Coach Matt Phillips '10 said. "In addition to this being a very physically demanding competition, it required a great deal of mental strength and toughness competing in the same heat and flight as Division I athletes. With our conference meet coming up in two weeks, we are in a great place this indoor season."
 
Back in Western New York, the 4x400-meter relay team of Mike Thammavong (Rochester, NY/Gates Chili), Connor Scriven (Peoria, AZ/Liberty), Kevin Flint (Caledonia, NY/Caledonia-Mumford) and Finnegan Dean (Potsdam, NY/Potsdam Central) had the top finish with a come-from-behind third place finish of 3:43.42.
 
Jacob Taylor (Cohocton, NY/Avoca) had the best individual finish of the night, clocking in a time of 4:35.15 in the men's mile, leading two other Saxons to Empire 8 Championship times on Friday. Dean ran a 4:38.79 to finish ninth, right behind Taylor, while Max Rasilla (Moraga, CA/Midland) ran a 4:53.07 to take 21^st. Yuner Sesmas (Apollo, PA/Kiski Area) also hit an E8-qualifying time of 16:39.36 in the 5,000-meter run, finishing 12^th in the race.
 
Flint closed out the E8 times on the track, running a 2:07.76 in the 800-meter run, finishing 16^th.
 
Throwers, Andrew Parnapy (Byron, NY/Byron-Bergen) and Daimel Fowler (Baldwinsville, NY/Baker) both hit E8 distances in both of their events to highlight the field events. Both also hit personal bests during Fridays showcase. Fowler reached 10.80m (35'-5.25") in the weight throw while Parnapy got to 11.39m (37'-4.5") in the shot put. Both were also relatively close to their personal bests in the opposite throws, Parnapy throwing 12.90m (42'-4") in the weight and Fowler throwing 11.12m (36'-5.75") in the shot put.
 
"It was amazing to see the Saxons at RIT hit such good marks and perform so well across the board. There were multiple season-bests and career-bests that were hit and it's just proof that their training is paying off," volunteer coach and Director of Athletic Communications, Chris Boswell said. "It was such a unique situation to where the teams split and myself, along with Associate Vice President for Student Experience, Athletics & Recreation, Deb Steward, stepped in to help the Saxons compete at RIT. Along with the help of senior, Sarah Lutkins, as well as the captains, Bianca Durso, Andrew and Kevin, everyone was where they needed to be and everyone supported each other to have a great Friday night meet. The work that everyone put in throughout their practices with Coach Phillips, Coach Wilson, Coach Taylor and Coach Nunez was evident in their performances and we have nothing but pride for how they carried themselves."
 
The Saxons will next close out their regular season with a Friday trip to Nazareth University for a 3:30pm meet on February 16, before the two-day Empire 8 Indoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Houghton University the following weekend.