ITHACA, N.Y- The Cortland men's indoor track and field team, ranked 18th nationally in Division III and first in the Atlantic Region, recorded one first-place finish and five other top-eight scoring performances at the All-Atlantic Region Indoor Track and Field Conference (AARTFC) Championships. Ithaca College hosted the two-day event Friday and Saturday.
 
Cortland, despite sending only a handful of competitors to the event, finished in a three-way tie for eighth place out of 40 schools alongside Oneonta and John Hopkins with a total of 26 points. Rowan won the team crown with 59 points, followed by Brockport (54), Geneseo (53), Rochester (42.5), and RIT (40) to round out the top five.
 
Freshman Dane Sorensen (Warwick/Warwick Valley) placed first out of 20 competitors in the pole vault with a height of 4.82 meters (15' 9.75"), improving his personal best on the season.
 
David Bernstein (Norwich) earned third-place honors in the weight throw after recording a distance of 16.94 meters (55' 7"). The 4x400 meter relay unit of Connor Lewis (Glen Ridge), Ricky Castello (New Rochelle), Richard Samuels (Wallkill) and Austen Johnson (Jamestown) finished fourth with a time of 3:21.95.
 
Liam Joyce (Dryden) finished sixth in the 200-meter dash in 22.73 seconds. Cortland's final two scorers were eighth-place finishers Wendell Brand (Sleepy Hollow) in the long jump (6.80 meters/22' 3.75") and Samuels in the 800 meters (1:55.71).
 
The top eight individual finishers and the top three relays earn All-AARTFC honors.
 
Also for the Red Dragons, Tyler Hochadel (Hamburg/Frontier) placed 13th in the shot put with a distance of 13.55 meters (44' 5.5") and Ryan Lawless (Commack) finished 15th in the pole vault at a height of 4.27 meters (14' 0").
 
Cortland awaits the announcement of participants for next weekend's NCAA Division III Championships, which be held in Boston, Mass., March 8-9. The final participant list will be posted on NCAA.com Sunday by 7 p.m. The top 20 in each individual event and the top 12 in each relay (4x400 and DMR) qualify for nationals. As of late Saturday night, Cortland athletes ranking in the national qualifying spots are:
 
Micah Assibey-Bonsu (Central Islip), ninth, triple jump
Isaiah Brooks (Minoa/East Syracuse Minoa), 13th, heptathlon
Zach Kashmer (Chili/Churchville-Chili), 15th, heptathlon
Peyton Lalone (Ogdensburg/Ogdensburg Free Academy), eighth, 200-meter dash
Storm Malone (Highland), tied 10th, 60-meter hurdles
Sorensen, 12th, pole vault
C.J. White (Middletown), 10th, triple jump

(Recap by sports information intern John Nocco)

Complete Results

Coach's Corner - Comments from Head Coach Steve Patrick

We approach this meet differently than a lot of other programs do.  After the SUNYAC Championships, we are either trying to refine things for the upcoming NCAA Championships, or we are trying to get ready for the outdoor season.  For most of the team that might be qualified for the AARTFC Championships but not quite ready for an NCAA-level performance, putting in quality training has more value for us.  This year, most of our team that was clearly qualified for the NCAA Championships also stood to benefit more from getting some quality practice in as compared to a hard competition.
 
The folks that came over to the meet certainly competed quite well!  In particular, David Bernstein had a season's best in the weight throw, which moved him up to the top 50 in the country; Taylor Hunter and Liam Joyce had season's best in the women's and men's 200 (respectively), freshman Dane Sorensen improved his lifetime best in the pole vault by two centimeters on the way to winning the title in the event, and sophomore Shannon Imbornoni had her fastest 800 of the year for a 'flat' track.  A really impressive performance was run by our women's 4x400 meter relay (Jesse Correale, Steffany Batista, Imbornoni, and Kaylee Uhl) ran their fastest time of the year!
 
We're also really proud that while we were following our principles, both programs earned top-10 finishes.  I think that indicates that what the members of the team are doing is excellent!  We're obviously excited to be heading into the NCAA Championships this upcoming weekend, and are looking forward to some great efforts!