Men's Track & Field | 4/17/2010 9:16:31 PM

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ROCHESTER, NY - The RIT men's track and field team placed second at the Empire 8 Championship Meet on Saturday at RIT FIeld. The team accumulated 161 points, while winners Ithaca scored 245 points. Although the weather was anything but pleasant, the Tigers held their own and enjoyed some strong performances with several athletes qualifying for the ECAC Championship Meet.

Senior Brian Walker (Brockport, NY/Brockport) had a stellar day as he was named the Outstanding Field Athlete of the Meet. Walker won two events, and placed second in his other event. This earned him two All-Empire 8 first team honors and one second team honor. Walker won both the discus and hammer throw. Walked threw the disc 38.87 meters and flung the hammer 48.82 meters, an ECAC qualifying time. Walker also placed second in the shot put, tossing the shot 12.68 meters.

Along with Walker, seven other athletes earned All-Empire 8 first team honors. Junior Mike Dempsey (Rochester, NY/Gates-Chili) won the pole vault, leaping to a height of 4.90 meters. Sophomore Mike Kurvach (Victor, NY/Victor) easily won the 3,000-meter steeplechase race with a time of 9:38.17. Kurvach's time qualifies him for the ECAC Championship Meet. Junior Matt Marion (Lima, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima) defended his title as the 400-hurdle champion, as he won the event for the second year straight. Marion won the event and also ran an ECAC qualifying time of 55.38 seconds. Freshman Cameron Lee (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Sutherland) won the 110-meter hurdles. Lee glided over the hurdles and crossed the line in an ECAC qualifying time of 15.30 seconds. Lee also helped the 4x400-meter relay team to win the race. Lee teamed up with Christopher Webb, Adam Irr (Newfane, NY/Newfane), and Brecht Moulin (Scarborough, ME/Scarborough) to finish the relay with a time of 3:26.82.

Moulin and Kurvach also earned second team honors in the 400-meter dash and 5,000-meter race, respectively. The 4x100-meter relay team and freshman Mike Haynes (Groton, MA/Groton Dunstable) also made the cut for the second team honors. Moulin placed second in the 400 with an ECAC qualifying time of 49.37 seconds. Kurvach finished second in the 5,000-meter race with a final time of 15:38.95. The relay team consisting of Webb, Moulin, Anthony Schiavone (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro), and Marion secured second with a time of 43.39 seconds. This time also qualifies them for the ECAC Championship Meet. Haynes followed closely behind Walker in the hammer throw. Hayne flung the hammer 44.96 meters to secure second place.

Moulin, Lee, Webb, Haynes, and Schiavone also helped to pick up more points for the team in their other individual events. Moulin was third in the 200-meter dash, crossing the line in a time of 22.57 seconds. Lee was third in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing in a time of 57.53 seconds. Webb was fourth in the 110-meter hurdles with an ECAC qualifying time of 15.73 seconds. Haynes was fifth in the shot put, tossing the shot 12.49 meters. Schiavone picked up a point in the 100-meter dash, placing sixth with a time of 11.45 seconds.

Other notable performances in the field events came from senior Chris Mieney (Greece, NY/Byron Bergen), freshmen Steven Arni (Nottingham, PA/Oxford Area) and Steven DiGerardo (Pompton Lakes, NJ/Pompton Lakes), and sophomore Chris Hartmann (Camp Hill, PA/Lower Dauphin). Mieney was third in the pole vault, soaring to a height of 3.97 meters. DiGerardo also helped to pick up some points in that event, placing fifth with a height of 3.67 meters. Arni was fourth in the shot put and sixth in the discus. Arni secured fourth with a toss of 12.52 meters and placed sixth with a throw of 34.20 meters. Hartmann picked up a point in the long jump, jumping 6.06 meters to secure him sixth place.

Sophomores Sam Smolenski (Skaneateles, NY/Skaneateles) and Andrew Gotham (Syracuse, NY/Honeoye) placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 800-meter race. Smolenski finished the race in a time of 2:01.14, while Gotham was close behind with a time of 2:01.71. Senior Nick Meeker (Hamburg, NJ/Wallkill Valley) and Irr placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 1,500-meter race. Meeker was fifth in a time of 4:09.27 while Irr secured sixth with a time of 4:12.91. Sophomore Joe Casey (Rochester, NY/Webster Thomas) picked up a point in the 400-meter dash, placing sixth with a time of 52.47 seconds.

The Tigers are back in action next Saturday as the travel to Geneseo for the Geneseo Invitational.