UTICA, N.Y. and ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cortland men's indoor track and field team finished in third place out of 15 schools at the Utica College Pioneer Invitational Saturday, and also sent some competitors to the non-team scoring Cornell University Kane Invitational.
 
Cortland finished with 50 points at Utica, trailing only RPI (120.7) and the host Pioneers (100.7) and just ahead of fourth-place Ithaca (49.1) and fifth-place Geneseo (44).
 
Dane Sorensen (Warwick/Warwick Valley) and Wendell Brand (Sleepy Hollow) led Cortland's scorers with second-place finishes. Sorensen was tied for the best height in the pole vault, along with Ithaca's Dominic Mikula, at 4.80 meters (15' 9") out of 28 competitors, but officially he placed second since Mikula cleared the height on his first attempt and Sorensen did it on his second try. Sorensen is currently tied for first in the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference (AARTFC) rankings and tied for ninth nationally in Division III with his height. Brand finished second out of 24 in the triple jump with an AARTFC-qualifying distance of 13.51 meters (44' 4"). Brand currently ranks 20th nationally with a performance (13.93 meters) from earlier this season.
 
Liam Joyce (Dryden) and Ryan Miller (Little Falls) each earned points in two events. Joyce finished third out of 73 sprinters in the 200-meter dash in 23.11 seconds and was sixth of 49 in the 60-meter dash in 7.22 seconds. Miller was fifth of 40 in the long jump at 6.47 meters (21' 2.75") and seventh in the triple jump at 13.09 meters (42' 11.5").
 
Tyler Hochadel (Hamburg/Frontier) finished fifth in a 46-competitor field in the shot put with a heave of 13.63 meters (44' 8.75"), with Bryan Finn (Fonda/Fonda-Fultonville) just barely behind him in sixth place at 13.62 meters (44' 8.25"). David Bernstein (Norwich) was sixth of 42 in the weight throw with an AARTFC distance of 15.11 meters (49' 7").
 
Other scorers included Ryan Lawless (Commack) with a sixth-place height of 4.20 meters (13' 9.25") in the pole vault, Luke Updegraff (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cumberland Valley) with a sixth-place time of 52.36 seconds in the 400-meter dash, Malik Hinds (Bay Shore) with a seventh-place time of 9.03 seconds (8.83 in prelims) in the 60-meter hurdles, and Kai Bryant (Brooklyn/H.S. of Enterprise Business and Tech.) with an eight-place effort of 7.28 seconds (7.26 in prelims) in the 60-meter dash.
 
Also at Utica, Jose Cruz (Ellenville) was ninth of 56 in the 800 meters (2:02.39),  Isaiah Brooks (Minoa/East Syracuse Minoa) and Zach Kashmer (Chili/Churchville-Chili) finished 10th (8.98) and 11th (8.99), respectively, in the 60-meter hurdles, Updegraff was 11th in the 200-meter dash (23.60), and Kashmer and Hinds placed 10th and 11th, respectively, in the long jump. Kashmer and Hinds each had top long jumps of 6.30 meters (20' 8"), with placement determined based on their second-best attempts.
 
At Cornell, Storm Malone (Highland) and Peyton Lalone (Ogdensburg/Ogdensburg Free Academy) each hit AARTFC marks. Malone won the 60-meter hurdles in 8.32 seconds, with his 8.25 time in prelims currently ranked second in the AARTFC and 15th nationally. Lalone was second in the 60-meter dash in 7.03 seconds (7.01 prelims) and second in the 200-meter dash (22.28). His 60-meter prelim time ranks eighth in the AARTFC. His 200-meter time matches his performance at Cornell from a week ago and is presently third in the AARTFC and 10th nationally.
 
Ryan Konotopskyj (East Amherst/Williamsville North) finished second of 29 in the mile (4:26.28). Austen Johnson (Jamestown) and Noah Serrette (Valley Stream/Lawrence) were third (51.19) and fourth (51.81), respectively, in the 400-meter dash, while Richard Samuels (Wallkill) (2:00.23) and Konotopskyj (2:01.55) were third and seventh, respectively, in the 800 meters.
 
Also for the Red Dragons at Cornell, Cabel McCandless (Lindenhurst) finished third in the 3,000 meters (9:05.63), with Grant Boyd (Newburgh/Newburgh Free Academy) next in line in fourth place (9:09.65), and Ricky Castello (New Rochelle) placed eighth in the 500 meters (1:07.73).
 
Cortland will compete next Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 2-3, at the Ithaca College Bomber Invitational and Multi.

Results:
Cornell (Women and Men)
Utica (Men)
Utica (Women)


Coach's Corner - Comments from Head Coach Steve Patrick:

We're really fortunate to have the ability to split the team up to try and pursue the best opportunities we can for the team.  It's a great luxury to have, and we are grateful for the support of the department that allows us to do it!
 
I think the best summary of both meets is that overall we had efforts that were good, and ultimately that is what you as an athlete can control.  We're also starting to see some really nice things come together for both teams.
 
While obviously the vault by freshman Dane Sorensen was fantastic, freshman Liz Spencer had a double personal best day in both the weight throw and the shot put, so that's obviously exciting!  Continuing on our theme of fantastic freshmen, Sydney Smith ran a very competitive mile at Cornell, while Ryan Miller had a season's best in long jump (breaking the 21-foot barrier, which is always fun) to go along with his second-best triple jump effort of the year.  Freshman Luke Updegraff had a really solid day at Utica in the long sprints (including a season's best in the 200), while classmate Taylor Hunter bested all comers to win the women's 60m dash at the Utica Pioneer open.
 
We're looking forward to the short trip to Ithaca College next weekend when they host the Bomber Invitational and Multi!