BROCKPORT, N.Y. – Nazareth's men's track and field team traveled to Brockport for the first day of the Empire 8 Championships on Friday. In the hammer throw, freshman Graeden Heichberger and sophomore David Dobrowolski each reached the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference (AARTFC) standard and improved their standing on Nazareth's Top-10 list.
The Golden Flyers stand in fifth place with 26 points after the first day of competition. Geneseo is first with a score of 94.5 points, followed by Brockport with 57 points, St. John Fisher with 56 points, and Utica with 47.5 points.
Heichberger finished fourth in the hammer with a throw of 54.25 meters (178' 0"), which ranks second on Nazareth's Top-10 list and surpasses his previous best of 51.89 meters (170' 3"), which he set on April 12th. Dobrowolski placed 6th with a throw of 51.98 meters (170' 6"), which is third on the Golden Flyers' Top-10 list. Dobrowolski's previous best was 48.87 meters (160' 4"), which he also recorded on April 12th. Freshman Connor Rinas rounded out the Nazareth throwers with a 14th-place throw of 42.54 meters (139' 7").
The Golden Flyers' 4x800 relay team, comprised of senior Ethan Kenyon, junior Michael Puglisi, senior Cade Eells, and junior Gavin McAllister placed second with an AARTFC time of 8:00.33. The time ranks third on Nazareth's Top-10 list.
Kenyon also ran the 3,000-meter steeplechase and placed fifth with a time of 9:46.62.
Juniors Cameron Almy and Connor Jackson raced in the 10,000-meter event. Almy finished fourth with a time of 32:48.21, while Jackson was 12th with a time of 34:53.94.
In the 400-meter finals, senior Benjamin Lewis and sophomore Jack Healy represented the Golden Flyers. Lewis placed eighth (49.40 seconds), and Healy was 14th (50.54 seconds). Lewis's time improves on his 2022 time of 50.07 seconds from the 2022 season and ranks sixth on Nazareth's Top-10 list.
Jack Pomykaj was one of three Nazareth juniors in the 110-meter hurdles. Pomykaj led the Golden Flyers with a seventh-place performance. He crossed the line with a time of 15.93 seconds to advance to Saturday's finals. Holden Thomas was ninth with a time of 16.27 seconds, and Ryan DeShane placed 10th with a time of 16.54 seconds.
Also in sprint events, graduate student Mike Welch competed in the 100-meter dash. Welch crossed the line with a time of 11.10 seconds to place 14th.
In field events, Nazareth had four athletes in the pole vault. Freshman Nathan Sinclair was the Golden Flyers' top finisher in ninth place with a height of 4.25 meters (13' 11 ¼") on his second attempt at the height. Classmate Nolan Armitage was 10th with a height of 4.25 meters (13' 11 ¼") on his third attempt. The performances by Sinclair and Armitage improved both of their previous best of 4.20 meters (13' 9 ¼") from April 5th and ranks fifth on Nazareth's Top-10 list. Freshman Will D'Agata and Pomykaj tied for 12th with a height of 4.10 meters (13' 5 ¼").
Junior Adam Reifsteck was the Golden Flyers' lone competitor in the triple jump; he placed 16th with a mark of 6.23 meters (20' 5 ¼").
Pomykaj and Thomas are at the midway point of the decathlon and stand in second and seventh, respectively.
Pomykaj has amassed 3,259 points, which is 154 points behind Geneseo's Daniel Pagan. Pomykaj recorded first-place finishes in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.27 seconds and long jump with a mark of 6.63 meters (21' 9"). He was second in the 400-meter sprint (52.93 seconds) and third in the high jump with a height of 1.76 meters (5'9 ¼"). He finished tied for fifth in the shot put with a throw of 9.45 meters (31' 0").
Thomas, meanwhile, has accumulated 2,754 points. Thomas was third in the 400-meter sprint (55.09 seconds) and fifth in the 100-meter event (11.88 seconds). He tied for fifth in the shot put with a throw of 9.45 meters (31' 0"), and was seventh in the long jump with a mark of 5.98 meters (19' 7 ½"). In the high jump, Thomas placed eighth with a height of 1.58 meters (5' 2 ¼").
Pomykaj and Thomas will close the decathlon with the 110-meter hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw, and 1,500-meter run.
The second day of the Empire 8 Championships at Brockport resumes at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, beginning with the decathlon's discus throw.
