Track & Field Ready for SUNYAC Outdoor Championships

CORTLAND, N.Y. – The Penn State Behrend men's and women's track & field teams will head to Cortland for the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Conference Outdoor Championships on Friday and Saturday, May 2-3. The two-day championships will take place at Cortland's Stadium Complex, beginning at 2 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Coverage:

Live Results | Day One Video | Day Two Video | Events Schedule

Behrend News & Notes:

Women

* Distance runners Lindsey Hartle (Pittsburgh, PA/Avonworth) and Bethany Litwiler (Reynolds, PA/Reynolds) will compete in the 5k and the 10k, while Litwiler will also be the fifth seed in the 3000m steeplechase
* Litwiler will be joined in the steeplechase by Sam Abate (North East, PA/North East) and Baylee Dernar (Wattsburg, PA/Seneca)
* Hartle will be flanked by Abate, Dernar, and Alivia Hetrick (Waterford, PA/Waterford) in the 5k
* Hartle rounds out her events as the second seed for the 10k run
* Hetrick will also run in the 1500m, while fellow freshman Macie Horvath (Hermitage, PA/Hermitage) looks for a solid 800m finish
* Senior pole vaulters are Noelani Takei (Fremont, CA/Irvington) and Grace Jones (Union City, PA/Union City) are seeded third and fifth. Jones will also be taking part in the triple jump
* The javelin throw will be highlighted by fourth-seed Braylee Lukehart (Reynoldsville, PA/DuBois Area) and seventh-seed Caroline Lewis (Erie, PA/McDowell)
* Lukehart joins as a wildcard selection with sixth-seed Norah Keeney (Ontario, NY/Wayne) and other wildcard selection Emma Whiteman (Erie, PA/Harbor Creek) in the discus, while Jessica Park (East Meadow, NY/East Meadow) (Hammer) and Lukehart (Shot Put) are the lone Behrend participants in their respective events
* In 400m hurdles, Ivy Laffan (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) will compete as the fourth seed with a personal best time of 1:10.36
* A trio of freshmen: Ella McGowan (Erie, PA/Waterford), Caroline McDevitt, and Lynzey Reinsel (North East, PA/North East) all qualified for the 400m
* Freshmen Jaade Duncan (Turner Falls, MA/Turner Falls) and Chloe Yazembiak (West Springfield, PA/Northwestern) are involved in a pair of events (100m/200m) this coming Friday and Saturday
* Rachel Skoczlas (Bridgeville, PA/Canon-McMillan) will score for the Lions in the heptathlon
* The top-18 times/marks in the SUNYAC have qualified for conference championships with two wildcard spots available for each school
* Not including the relay events, the Behrend women will have 20 athletes compete on Friday and Saturday

Men

* Freshman Carter Tobin (Irwin, PA/Norwin) earned top-five seeds in the 100m and 200m
* Tobin is joined by Brandon Konieczki (Erie, PA/Harbor Creek) in the 100m and Jake Egizio (Canonsburg, PA/Canon-McMillan) in the 200m
* Konieczki is also seeded second for the long jump
* Egizio will be flanked by wildcard selection Logan Brewer (South Park, PA/South Park) in the 400m
* The Lions will have a quartet of runners in the 800m: Nicolin Pierce (Erie, PA/McDowell), Aiden Seeman (Edinboro, PA/General McLane), Kody Klein (North East, PA/Cathedral Prep), and David Gahagan (South Park, PA/South Park)
* Distance runners Bennett Kerr (Murrysville, PA/Franklin Regional), Alex Haskins (North East, PA/North East), and Michael Werner (Erie, PA/Seneca) will all compete in the 5k, while Drew Knight (Butler, PA/Butler) and Emil George (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) take part in the 1500m and 10k
* In the 3000m steeplechase, Behrend has nine athletes make up the field: Peyton Brewer (Erie, PA/Harbor Creek), Tim Hamilton (Winchester, MA/Winchester), Kerr, Seeman, Aidan Reinsel (North East, PA/North East), Haskins
* Reinsel and Shlok Chavda (Chantilly, VA/Freedom South Riding) are eighth and ninth seeds in the 400m hurdles
* Ryan Festa (Horsham, PA/Hatboro-Horsham) (Pole Vault), Dan Dabrowski (Harborcreek, PA/Harbor Creek) (Discus), and Aiden Grieneisen (Brockway, PA/Brockway Area) (Javelin) will be the top seeds in their respective events
* Three Lions will throw in the shot put: Alex Cotton (Saxonburg, PA/Knoch), Antonio Faraone (New Castle, PA/Union), and Ryan Visosky (Erie, PA/McDowell)
* Cotton, Visosky, and wildcard option Nathan DiGilio (North East, PA/North East) will join Dabrowski in the discus
* Grieneisen along with Charlie Motter ( Oil City, PA/Oil City), Braden Balaski (Mercer, PA/Mercer), and Morgan McCall (Meadville, PA/Milton Hershey School) will look for top marks in the javelin
* Fourth-seeded Derek Hillhouse (Erie, PA/McDowell) and sixth-seeded Boden Gushie (Erie, PA/Harbor Creek) will high jump on Saturday
* Dominic Marino (Girard, PA/Girard) (110m hurdles) and Hayden Travers (Henrietta, NY/Rush-Henrietta) (Hammer) will be the lone Lions in their respective events
* A pair of freshmen will take on the decathlon: Cole Cunningham (Mercer, PA/Mercer) and Trent Turner (Selinsgrove, PA/Selinsgrove)
* Not including the relay events, the Behrend men will have 33 athletes compete on Friday and Saturday
* Each institution will do a final relay card on site to determine the participants for the 4x1 and 4x4 relays
* The top-3 finishers in each will named to the All-Conference Team