BROCKPORT, N.Y. – Senior Melique Garcia (Watervliet) won league titles in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes and junior Connor Ten Eyck (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) took top honors in the pole vault as Cortland finished in third place out of eight teams at the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) championship meet. The event was held at Brockport's Special Events and Recreation Center.

Buffalo State won a tight race for the league title with 130 points, followed by Oneonta (122), Cortland (106), Geneseo (94) and Brockport (85.5) to round out the top five.

Garcia won the 60-meter dash in 6.85 seconds and the 200-meter dash in 21.95 seconds. His 200-meter time currently ranks third nationally in Div. III. Ten Eyck cleared 4.70 meters (15' 5") to win the pole vault title. He was matched by a competitor from Brockport but was declared the winner due to fewer misses.

Junior Glen Forsythe (Uniondale) finished second in the long jump at 7.10 meters (23' 3.5"). The individual league champions earn first-team All-SUNYAC honors, while individual runners-up are recognized as second-team all-conference.

Senior Tyler Prendergast (Waterford/Shenendehowa) broke his own school record in the weight throw with his third-place distance of 16.75 meters (54' 11.5"). He eclipsed his old mark of 16.28 meters set in 2012.

Sophomore Jerel Williams (East Islip) finished third in the 60-meter dash (7.00), senior Tom Hopkins (Syracuse/West Genesee) was third in the mile run (4:20.29) and junior Andre Green (Watertown/Indian River) placed third in the long jump (7.04 meters – 23' 1.25"). Junior Nick Avossa (Kingston) finished fourth in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.46 seconds.

Cortland finished fourth in both relays. The 4x400-meter relay of sophomore Keewan Rondinello (Liverpool), junior Eric Wong (Massapequa Park/Massapequa), freshman Bailey Imbo (Bayport/Bayport-Blue Point) and Williams finished in 3:24.60. The distance medley relay of senior Mike Kelly (Coram/Longwood), junior Rob Schenke (Kings Park), freshman Ryan Jelinek (Poughkeepsie/Spackenkill) and junior Tim Odin (Norhtport) was clocked at 10:39.31.

Wong placed fifth in the 400-meter dash (51.51), junior Zach Zieniewicz (Seaford) was fifth in the 60-meter hurdles (8.51), junior Jarred Iacovelli (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional) was sixth in the 3,000 meters (8:54.79) and senior Tim Lee (West Babylon) placed sixth in the 5,000 meters (15:19.88).

Sophomore Aaron Anderson (Binghamton/Chenango Valley) finished fifth in the pole vault (4.25 meters – 13' 11.25"). Senior Besnik Palushi (Pine Plains) also cleared 4.25 meters, but officially tied for sixth place with a Brockport competitor due to number of misses.

Rondinello finished seventh in both the 200-meter dash (22.79) and 400-meter dash (51.62) and freshman Kenenna Emekekwue (Elmont/Sewanhaka) was seventh in the 60-meter dash (7.23, 7.19 in prelims).

Also scoring for Cortland with top-eight finishes were: junior Khaaliq Evans (Queens/Uniondale) in eighth place in the 60-meter dash (7.33, 7.23 in prelims); freshman Kyle Bettex (East Meadow) in eighth place in the 60-meter hurdles (8.89, 8.79 in prelims); and senior Tom Calandra (Amherst/Williamsville North) with a tie for eighth place in the pole vault at 4.10 meters (13' 5.25").

Cortland will compete at the ECAC Div. III Indoor Championships on Friday and Saturday, March 7-8, at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, Mass. The Red Dragons' ECAC qualifiers during the SUNYAC Championships were:

4x400-meter relay
Distance Medley Relay
Avossa, 60-meter hurdles
Forsythe, Long Jump
Garcia, 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash
Jon Granger (Ticonderoga), Long Jump (10th place, 6.71 meters – 22' 0.25")
Green, Long Jump
Hopkins, Mile
Iacovelli, 3,000 meters
Imbo, 800 meters (12th place, 1:58.17)
Lee, 5,000 meters
Prendergast, Weight Throw
Rondinello, 200-meter dash, 400-meter dash
Ten Eyck, Pole Vault
Williams, 60-meter dash, 200-meter dash (9th place, 22.94)
Wong, 400-meter dash
Zienewicz, 60-meter hurdles


Complete Results