ROCHESTER, NY – The Alfred University men's track & field team finished fifth out of the seven teams at the 2024 Empire 8 Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Friday and Saturday at St. John Fisher University.
 
"We really have an awesome group of athletes this year that have made this championship meet, specifically, so special," Assistant Head Coach, Sierra Wilson '22 said. "Being able to be a part of the process and see how the hard work they put in pays off is something special. It is a long season so being able to finish strong with some amazing performances makes it all worth it."
 
First-year Zion Baitey (Morristown, NJ/Morristown) picked up two wins to lead the Saxons while making podium two more times. His first victory came in the long jump on Friday, reaching 6.85m (22'-5.75") on his second attempt. On Saturday, he won the triple jump with a clearance of 13.12m (43'-0.5") on his final attempt and was in first place after his second hop-skip-jump of the day, hitting 13.07m (42'-10.75"), being the only jumper to go over 13 meters.
 
Baitey ran the anchor leg in the 4x400-meter relay alongside Kevin Flint (Caledonia, NY/Caledonia-Mumford), Max Rasilla (Moraga, CA/Midland) and Finnegan Dean (Potsdam, NY/Potsdam Central) where they battled back from being in sixth place to finish fourth, defeating St. John Fisher, Hartwick and Houghton with a time of 3:31.45. Baitey also ran an open 400-meter dash to finish fifth with a time of 50.29, tying with Fisher's top runner in the event for fourth, but after breaking down the finish to the thousandth of a second, Baitey earned fifth. In total, Baitey was responsible for, or took part in 26 of the teams' 46 points.
 
Jason Crocker (Oreland, PA/Springfield, Township) was the only other Saxon to win an event during the Empire 8 Outdoor Championships as he won the discus throw on Saturday. He was one of just three throwers to throw beyond the 40-meter line during the opening flights and was seeded second going into finals behind his throw of 41.16m (135'-0") on his first attempt. On his fifth attempt, Crocker hit 43.36m (142'-3") to jump to the top spot and held on to win the event.
 
He also found a spot on the podium in shot put with a throw of 13.49m (44'-3.25") for fifth place. Crocker just missed finals in javelin on Friday, finishing in ninth place. Teammate Kenneth Berlin (Erie, PA/Harbor Creek) did make finals in javelin and finished fifth to earn a spot on the podium in his final meet of his collegiate career. He made finals on his second throw, hitting 38.39m (125'-11") before marking a distance of 40.92m (134'-3") on his fifth attempt that got him his podium spot.
 
The 4x800-meter relay team of Flint, Jacob Taylor (Cohocton, NY/Avoca), Rasilla and Dean earned fourth place with a time of 8:23.42, defeating Houghton and Hartwick to earn four points towards the team total.
 
The Saxons will next take a small group of athletes to Allegheny College on Thursday, May 9 for a Last Chance Meet in hopes to qualify for All-Atlantic Regional Track & Field Conference (AARTFC) Outdoor Championships at SUNY Cortland.