(photo by Riley Olson)
Fredonia State christened its new outdoor track and field complex Saturday by hosting the Blue Devil Invitational. The hosts recorded four individual and two relay wins.
Talon Rowland finished first in the 400 meters in 48.94 seconds, an All-Atlantic Regional qualifying mark. He was the only athlete under 49 seconds in the event.
The men's 5,000 meters was dominated by Stephen Hallberg, who led throughout and won in 15:38.68, leading at every split and closing in 1:04.09 over the final 400.
In the relays, the quartet of Jordan Lockett, Rowland, Cam Sample, and Aiden VanAmburg won the 4x100 in 41.53 seconds, edging Brockport by five-hundredths of a second. The winning time was below the regional mark.
The Blue Devils also won the 4x400 relay in 3:34.92, leading at every exchange with the quartet of VanAmburg, Sample, Jourden, and Rowland. The Blue Devils split 2:41.61 at 800 meters and closed in 53.32 on the anchor, finishing more than 17 seconds ahead of St. Bonaventure's B‑team
In field events, Fredonia swept the top three places in the pole vault, led by Jacob Futch, who won the event at 4.40 meters (14 feet, 5¼ inches) with a first‑attempt clearance at that bar before three misses at the next height. Noah Snyder took second at 3.95 meters and Blake Hageman placed 3rd at 3.80 meters.
Also, Sample won the long jump with a best of 7.26 meters (23 feet, 10 inches), hitting that mark twice, and adding a 7.15 and 7.02 to complete a dominant series; no other athlete in the field reached 7.00.
In the 800, Jourden delivered Fredonia's top men's middle‑distance result of the meet, placing 3rd overall in 1:58.67 out of Heat 1. He split 57.95 / 1:00.72, holding third from the bell to the finish.
