The Oswego State men’s and women’s track and field teams competed for the second day, this time at the Utica University Almost Spring Invite in Utica, NY. The Lakers had a strong and big day, with multiple personal bests and first-place finishes highlighting their performance.

The day’s standout came from Daniel Mars, who finished first in the men’s 100-meter dash with an impressive time of 11.10 seconds. Mars was followed by teammates Malik Davis (11.82), Soren Wolford (12.11) and Malik Noble (12.11), showing depth in the sprinting group. Mars returned to the track later to finish third in the 200-meter (22.23), followed by Jack Hickey in fifth (23.11) and Wolford again with a time of 23.75.

On the women’s side, Elena Gaffney had a dominant race in the 5000-meter, winning the event at 18:58.86. In the same distance on the men’s side, Noah Melita earned a fifth-place finish (16:09.75), while Aidan Hafer ran a personal best of 18:23.12. TJ Bowes, JT Goss and Elijah LaNigra competed in the event.

In relay action, the women’s 4×100-meter squad of Riley Flynn, Sabrina Schmitt, Rhiannon Butchko and Brennan O’Brien secured second place with a time of 55.33. The men’s 4×100 team of Noble, Osasenaga Egharevba, Pierce St. Fort Collins and Darnell Johnson finished with a time of 47.83.

The women’s 1500-meter event featured personal bests from Julia Weaver (5:40.58) and Angelina Buttigieg (5:44.31). In the men’s 1500m, Jeffery Simmons ran a strong race to finish fifth with 4:25.12, followed by Niel Graber (5:03.50).

Cory Morton finished fifth in the men’s 110m hurdles (17.17), with Darnell Johnson following (21.20). On the women’s side, Brenna O’Brien finished fourth in the 100m hurdles (18.46), with teammates Kaleigh Durso (19.12) and Luna Catano (20.34) also competing.

Jack Hickey earned third in the men’s 400m with a time of 52.01, while Tom Mahunik and Simmons followed with 52.98 and 54.56, respectively. Harper Ellis led the women in the 400m at 1:10.78.

In the 800-meter events, Jessica Torrey finished seventh for the women (2:49.30) and Graber ran 2:25.38 for the men. Sabrina Schmitt also had an intense day, finishing third in the women’s 200m (27.40) and sixth in the 100m (13.88). Charlotte Cobene and Escalin Santos also raced in both sprints.

In the field events, Morton posted a 6.01-meter mark in the men’s long jump and later secured second in the triple jump (12.47). Gregory Weston followed close in the triple jump with 12.02. In the women’s long jump, Durso (4.48), Flynn (4.14) and Teagan Roy (4.05) all competed. Durso returned to action in the high jump, clearing 1.38 meters. Rhiannon Butchko jumped 1.53 meters to take second place in the same event.

In the men’s high jump, Tony Mozelle cleared 1.74 meters to earn second place.

The Lakers will look to build on their momentum next Saturday, April 5, as they travel to Cortland Invite. Events begin at 10 a.m.

Photo by: Oswego athletics