Men's Track & Field | 2/8/2017 2:50:00 PM

ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's track and field team is vying for its second straight title and fourth in six seasons, as they host the 2016-17 Liberty League Indoor Track and Field Championship from the Gordon Field House at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11. It is also RIT's Tiger Den Event, with several prizes and giveaways available for all RIT students in attendance.
 
Junior Markus Hines (Buffalo, NY/Hutchinson Tech.) is the two-time defending Liberty League Champion in the 60-meter dash. Teammate Matthew Lienhard (Allentown, PA/Allentown Catholic) enters the weekend with the fastest time in that event this season among league runners at 7.05 seconds. Hines is right behind at 7.19 seconds. Lienhard (22.80 seconds) leads a strong group of Tigers in the 200-meter dash. Currently, RIT has four of the top six league performances in the event.
 
RIT has won four of the previous five 60-meter hurdle events, with Myles Garner (Gurnee, IL/Warren Township) entering this season's event as the defending champion. He has the second best time among all Liberty League sprinters in the event this season at 8.42 seconds, which also ranks him 32nd, nationally.
 
Fellow sprinters Rob Dalheim (Rochester, NY/Brockport), Christopher Callejo (West Babylon, NY/Patchouge-Medford), Alaraba Sodiq Oladipo (Lagos, Nigeria/DoEstdot International), and Curtis Geiger (Allentown, PA/Emmaus) will be in contention for Liberty League accolades. James Bailey (Danvers, MA/Danvers), Grant Salk (Livermore, CA/Granada), Tommy Papish (Strongsville, OH/Strongsville), and Nate Butler (Warren, OH/Lakeview) are solid contenders in the distance events.   
 
RIT is expected to excel in the distance medley relay, as they currently have the 26th best time in Division III this season. The 4 x 200- and 4 x 400-meter relay teams are also expected to vie for league titles.
 
A RIT student-athlete has won the last four pole vault championships (Joe Cronin, 2013 and 2014), Nicholas Perez (2015 and 2016). This season, Ethan Maguire (Penfield, NY/Penfield) and Austin White (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg) are expected to lead a deep RIT contingent in the event. Maguire, the reigning Liberty League Field Athlete of the Week and White have the best vaults in the league this season at 4.70 meters, which is also tied for 17th nationally. Overall, RIT currently has the top-six performers in the pole vault among all Liberty League student-athletes this season.
 
Freshman Dan Giuliano has the top long jump in the Liberty League (6.62 meters), with Raphael Abel () (6.58 meters) right behind. Nick Ng (Wayland, MA/Wayland) (13.20 meters) is currently third among Liberty League triple jumpers.
 
The Tigers have a handful of talented throwers looking to make their mark in Sean Terry (Hornell, NY/Hornell), Zach Darling (Rome, PA/Northeast Bradford), Jake Saxton (Merrimack, NH/Bishop Brady), Mickey Evans (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville North), Kent Kellar (Wells, ME/Wells), and Dylan Ulm (Camillus, NY/West Genesee).
 
Men's Top Performers:  
Event – Student/Athlete – Liberty League Place – Time/Throw
60-meter dash - Matthew Lienhard (Allentown, PA/Allentown Catholic) - T1st - 7.05
200-meter dash - Matthew Lienhard (Allentown, PA/Allentown Catholic) – 2nd - 22.80
400-meter dash - Rob Dalheim (Rochester, NY/Brockport) – 2nd - 51.39
800 meter run - Matthew Meehan (West Caldwell, NJ/Caldwell) – 16th ^- 2:04.48
Mile - James Bailey (Danvers, MA/Danvers) – 10th - 4:32.27
3,000 meter run – Tommy Papish (Strongsville, OH/Strongsville) – 9th - 9:07.86
5,000 meter run - Chris Schwab (Holliston, MA/Xaverian Brothers) – 11th - 16:45.79
60-meter hurdles - Myles Garner (Gurnee, IL/Warren Township) – 2nd - 8.42
4x200 relay – RIT – 1st - 1:32.77
4x400 relay – RIT – 2nd - 3:29.54
Distance medley relay – RIT – 1st -10:39.72
High Jump - Bradley Morissette (Auburn, ME/Edward Little) – 9th - 5'8" (1.73m)
Pole Vault - Ethan Maguire (Penfield, NY/Penfield)/ Austin White (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg) - T1st - 15'5" (4.70m)
Long Jump - Daniel Giuliano (Ledgewood, NJ/Roxbury) – 1st - 21'8.75" (6.62m)
Triple Jump - Nicholas Ng – 3rd - 43'3.75" (13.20m)
Shot Put - Sean Terry (Hornell, NY/Hornell) – 5th - 43'3" (13.18m)
Weight Throw - Zach Darling (Rome, PA/Northeast Bradford) – 3rd - 47'11.75" (14.62m)