Devils ready for indoor season to begin
Sports Information Department – 112 Dods Hall
Phone (716) 673-3100 / Fax (716) 673-3136
CONTACT: Jerry Reilly,
Sports Information Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Track & Field
FREDONIA, N.Y. -- Three athletes with national meet experience top the list of returnees at the start of the Fredonia State indoor track and field season.
Distance runners Eddie Novara (Angola/Lake Shore) and Tom Williams (Queensbury), and jumper Jackie Majka (Cheektowaga/Depew), have all participated at the NCAA Division III championship level.
Novara, a sophomore, is the most recent participant, and the lone All-American. He finished 29th at the NCAA Division III cross country championships held Nov. 21 at Cleveland, Ohio. The top 35 finishers receive All-American distinction. Williams, a senior, preceded Novara to the national cross county championships by running in the 2008 meet, while Majka, a senior, qualified for the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field championship meet as a high jumper last March.
The Blue Devils have also seen two other key performers depart. Julia Hopson, Fredonia State's most decorated women's track and field athlete, graduated last May following four outstanding years culminating in the university's first national title by a woman -- the 20-pound weight throw at the 2009 NCAA indoor championships. On the men's side, multi-events jumper and 2009 SUNYAC triple jump champ Mike Kelley has chosen to serve an academic-related internship this year while retaining his final season of eligibility.
Due to inclement weather and a travel snafu, the team cancelled out of its scheduled first meet in Kent, Ohio, and is now scheduled to open its season Jan. 16 at Rochester Institute of Technology, the first of six pre-championship meets during the indoor season. Other meets of note: The Mary Phillips Invitational Jan. 23 inside the Steele Hall Fieldhouse, the Valentine Invitational Feb. 12 and 13 at Boston University, and the SUNYAC championship Feb. 27 in Geneva, N.Y. The Mary Phillips meet is open to alumni.
Here's a breakdown of the 2009-10 indoor team:
Distance -- An All-American in cross country, Novara finished second in the 5,000-meter run at the SUNYAC indoor meet last winter. Tom Williams was fifth in the 5k indoor race behind his teammate.
Middle distance -- Three juniors lead the men. David "Mac" McMahill (Hemlock/Livonia) was third indoors in the 800 meters last season; he won the SUNYAC championship at the same distance outdoors. Nick Guarino (Bergen/Byron-Bergen) was second in the outdoor 800 and second in the 1,500-meter run at the same outdoor meet. His twin brother, Josh Guarino (Bergen/Byron-Bergen), has done his best running in the steeplechase during the outdoor season. He will concentrate on the mile run during the indoor season. Two newcomers to watch are freshmen Ryan Delaney (Coram/Longwood) and Jack Bennett (LeRoy), both of whom made big improvements during the cross country season. On the women's side, senior Sarah Furman (West Berne/Berne-Knox-Westerlo) missed the entire cross country season due to an injury but appears to have regained her form and could be a contender at the SUNYAC meet.
Sprints -- Two-time SUNYAC 55-meter hurdles champ Kate Brett (Webster/Webster-Schroeder) will lead the women sprinters. For the men, sophomore Carl Caughell (Niagara Falls/Niagara-Wheatfield) finished fifth in the 55 hurdles at last year’s SUNYACs. In the 55 and 200 meters, newcomers Webster Thomas (Windsor, Conn.), a native of Jamaica, is a talented addition as a junior, as is freshman Chris Rhinehardt (Olean) in the 400 meters.
Field events -- Majka will return in the high jump, triple jump and long jump. She will be joined in the high jump by freshman Brooke Tokarz (Fairport). In the men's high jump, junior Dwight Barlow (Cheektowaga/Hutch Tech) returns after a season away from competition. In the pole vault, SUNYAC point-scorers Greg Craft (Cheektowaga/JFK), a junior, and sophomore Cody Dahlieden (East Aurora) are joined by transfer student Broncho Rollins (Ithaca), a junior who's expect to make an immediate impact. Two women pole vaulters, Jess Gniazdowski (Arcade/Pioneer) and Chelsea Caruso (Falconer), each have a chance to set the school record as freshmen. In addition, freshman multi-eventer Spencer Lefort (Java Center/Pioneer), will contribute in jumps and hurdles. A young group of women throwers will be lead by sophomore Keri Heath (Farmington/Victor), seventh in the SUNYAC weight throw last season.
The Blue Devils' interim head coach is Liz Aldrich. She'll again be assisted by Jeff Beck (distance and middle distance), Paul Csont (sprints and jumps), and Tom Wilson (pole vault). Aldrich expects the men’s team, fifth last year at the SUNYAC indoor championships, to move up the standings, possibly into the top three, while the women will be looking to improve on their sixth-place finish at the 2009 meet.