Results l Compiled Results

HOUGHTON, NY – For the second consecutive year the Nazareth men's track and field squad won the Empire 8 Indoor Track and Field Championships, coming back from eight points down after day 1, to overtake runner-up Utica University on Saturday. Graduate Student Kaleb Luton got the Golden Flyers off to a great start in the opening event, winning the 60-meter hurdles in 8.01 for a conference record, facility record, meet record, and personal best. He was later named the Track Athlete of the Meet. He also won the 60-meter dash in a personal best time of 7.06, a regional qualifying time. In addition, sophomore Jack Pomykaj was victorious in the heptathlon, collecting a school record 4,405 points.
 
Nazareth finished with 186.2 points, followed by Utica (160.4), St. John Fisher (92.2), Houghton (69), Alfred (16), Hartwick (2.2) and Sage (1).
 
The championship comes for Nazareth after 2023 marked the first-ever Empire 8 Indoor title for the Golden Flyers. 
 
A day after clocking an 8.04 in the prelims, Luton was able to go even lower on Saturday in 8.01 seconds to set the conference record. The previous conference record was 8.02 seconds sets by St. John Fisher's Eddie Mahana in 2020. The Golden Flyers were also second, third, and fifth in the same event. Connor McCauslin was second in 8.53, a regional qualifying time, while Aaron Lund was third (8.76) and sophomore Holden Thomas fifth (8.95). Thomas beat his previous career high of 9.07.
 
Pomykaj, who was second after four events in the heptathlon on Friday, had two third place finishes and a first in the pole vault, with each being personal bests, to take the event. He ran a 9.26 in the 60-meter hurdles to open the day in third place. A day after breaking his own school record in the pole vault event for Empire 8s with a vault of 4.45 meters (14 feet, 7 ¼ inches), the sophomore hit that same mark in the heptathlon to take first. He closed out the meet in third place in the 1,000 (3:03.88) ahead of his previous best of 3:04.85. Joining Pomykaj on the podium was Lund with 4,129 points. He opened with a win in the 60-meter hurdles (8.82) was third in the pole vault at a personal best 3.65 meters (10 feet, 8 inches), and took second in the 1,000 (2:56.48). Thomas was fourth with 3,724 points, including setting a PR in the 60-meter hurdles (9.05) for second place. 
 
15 points came by way of the 800, headlined by Cade Eells in second place in 1:59.02. The Golden Flyers then went 4-6 with Gavin McAllister (1:59.47), freshman Cole Hastings (2:00.74), and Joseph Cataldo (2:01.22). Hastings shed over two seconds off his previous best (2:02.57) and Cataldo over three seconds (2:04.59). 
 
The familiar duo of Eells (8:50.47) and Nathan Bowers (8:50.82) took second and third place in the 3,000. 
 
In the triple jump, Luton was able to secure second place with a mark of 13.04 meters (42 feet, 9 ½ inches), while sophomore Gabe Wilson was third at 12.95 meters (42 feet, 6 inches). That jump was a personal best for Wilson. Wilson also tied for sixth in the high jump at 1.73 meters (5 feet, 8 inches), while junior Kyle Reid was fourth at 1.83 meters (6 feet).
 
Michael Puglisi (22.79) and Benjamin Lewis (22.83) showed up big in the 200, taking third and fourth place, respectively. Lewis' time was a personal best by .02.
 
Freshman David Dobrowoski was sixth in the weight throw at a personal best mark of 14.73 meters (48 feet, 4 inches).

To close out the meet, Lewis, Mike Welch, Jack Healy, and Gavin McAllister finished second in the 4 x 400-meter relay.