Plattsburgh State Men's Track & Field

May 3, 2008

 Cardinals Beat Oneonta in Dual May Meet     

ONEONTA, N.Y. - The Plattsburgh State men's outdoor track and field took four first-place events to help the Cardinals defeat host Oneonta by a combined score (with the women), 134-129, in the 7th annual Red Dragons May Dual Meet on Saturday.  COMPLETE RESULTS

"(Meet organizers) combined men's and women's teams into one team and scored it that way", said Plattsburgh coach John Lynch. "It was a fun, competitive meet. A good culmination of the season for some of our student-athletes."

Three Cardinals won field events, including Andrew Krug in the high jump at 6-feet, 2-inches (or 1.88 meters), Schuyler Field in the pole vault at 14-31/4 for an Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships qualifying mark of 4.35m, and Peter Hamm in the long jump at 21-11/4 (6.43m).

Charles Meyers was victorious in the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.36 seconds.

The Cardinals won another event on the track as Field and Jeff Dobson paired with their female teammates Mahalia Ewers and Kathryn O'Leary in the mixed 4x100 relay, with a clocking of 47.85.   

 Cardinals Place Fifth at SUNYACs     

CORTLAND, N.Y. - Senior Jeff Dobson won two events to help the Plattsburgh State men's outdoor track and field team finish in fifth place with 69-1/2 points at the State University of New York Athletic Conference Championships hosted by Cortland State, which wrapped up on Saturday.  The host Red Dragons easily won the team crown over runner-up Buffalo State, 214 to 126-1/2.  COMPLETE MEET RESULTS

Dobson captured the 400-meter dash in near-record time of 48.66 seconds, which was .43 off the meet record set five years ago.  Then he anchored the 4x400 relay squad--including Charles Meyers, Bryan Mockus and Peter Hamm--that took first place for the third year in a row; this time in 3 minutes and 22.72 seconds.  Dobson ran anchor leg in the 400 relay, which was fourth in 43.6.

The Cardinals also shined in the distance races as Benjamin Jackson was third in the 1,500m (4:01.9), Mike Heymann was second in the 5,000m (15:45.49) and third in the 10,000 (31:14.61).

Schuyler Field had the team's best finish in the field events:  fourth in the pole vault at 14 feet and 5-1/2 inches, or 4.41 meters.  Andrew Krug contributed a 6-3/4 (1.85m) performance for a fifth-place tie with two others in the high jump 

 Cardinals Stand Fifth after First Day of SUNYACs     

CORTLAND, N.Y. - The Plattsburgh State men's track and field squad scored 15-1/2 points for fifth place after Friday's opening day of the State University of New York Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships hosted by Cortland State.  RESULTS  

Freshman Mike Heymann had the Cardinals' best finish of third place in the 10,000-meter run in 31 minutes and 14.61 seconds.

Freshman Schuyler Field went 14 feet and 5-1/2 inches (4.41 meters) for fourth place in the pole vault, earning five points.

Andrew Krug and Beau Cameron rounded out the scoring in the high jump, ending up T-5th and T-8th both with a 6-3/4 performance.  

 Dobson Wins Three Events at Hamilton Invitational    

CLINTON, N.Y. - Senior Jeff Dobson won three events, including the 100 and 200-meter dashes and the 4x400 relay with Josh Mockus, Peter Hamm and Jason Burke, to highlight the Plattsburgh State men's outdoor track and field team's performances at Saturday's Hamilton Invitational at Pritchard Track Complex.  COMPLETE MEET RESULTS   

Dobson beat teammate Bryan Mockus in the 100, 11.37 seconds to 11.79, and he also took home the 200 in 22.64.  The 1600 relay was victorious in a time of 3 minutes and 23.81 seconds.  The 400-relay squad also took first place in 44.24.

Andrew Krug qualified for the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships in the high jump at 1.90 meters for third place, and freshman Bobby Grim qualified for the State University of New York Athletic Conference 1500-meter run championship race with a clocking of 4:09.62 for fourth place out of 27 finishers. 

"We have been very solid the past three weeks and even while working hard during the week we have been able to put together some great performances," Plattsburgh coach John Lynch said. "The team has definitely been calloused by a tough indoor season and I think we are going into the SUNYAC Championships a tougher team than we were in indoor track. The past three weeks have shown me that we have a great shot to score more points than we did in indoor. We have definitely put things together at the right time. 

"What was really nice to see was even when we put some of our best athletes in foreign events for them, they were still able to come away with qualifying performances and even some wins." 

 Bieber Nets SUNYAC Qualifier  

CANTON, N.Y. - Sophomore Jordan Bieber qualified for the State University of New York Athletic Championships in the 400-meter hurdles to highlight the Plattsburgh State men's outdoor track and team's performance at the Saint Lawrence University Tuesday Open held at the Merrick-Pinkard Track and Field Complex.  Bieber ran a time of 59.82 seconds to finish in second place behind teammate Jason Burke who won in 58.04.  COMPLETE MEET RESULTS

Dan McIlrath ran a season's best in the 800-meter run in 2 minutes and 2.14 for eighth.

Alex Carboni and Joshua Bushey both threw the discus for season's best of 107 feet, 3 inches (32.68m) and 95-11 (29.23m), respectively.  Carboni went for fourth and Bushey was sixth.

Apr. 12, 2008

 Cardinals Track Competes at Bison Outdoor Classic    

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Benjamin Jackson had the highest finish for the Plattsburgh State men's track and field team at the Bucknell Bison Outdoor Classic during the NCAA Division I-dominated event's opening day, finishing in 33rd place out of 59 competitors in the 1500-meter run with a time of 4 minutes and 5.97 seconds.  COMPLETE RESULTS   

Matt Medeiros and Jack Swartz were 45th and 47th in 10:12.5 and 10:20.1, respectively, in the 3000m steeplechase.

The Cardinals also received a 49th-place performance from Joe Ver in the 5,000m, with a time of 15:46.02.

"We had great performances across the board. This meet was really a breakthrough competition for us. I am not sure if I have seen us perform this well as a team before," Plattsburgh coach John Lynch said.  "After Williams, I knew we were getting hot at the right time and it definitely carried over into this meet. We have had a fair share of qualifiers, so now it is time to go back to work and try to get some more big improvements by the time our championship seasons roll around. We will also be looking to carry some of this momentum over into next week as we compete at St. Lawrence and Hamilton for last chance SUNYAC qualifying opportunities."

On the second day, which wrapped up Saturday night, Schuyler Field turned in the team's best finish for the entire meet as he placed fifth in the pole vault at 14 feet and 9 inches, which tied for the top mark among Division III competitors.

Jeff Dobson also had a fifth-place finish in the 400-meter dash in 49.27 out of 53 runners, with Josh Mockus 15th in 50.15 and Peter Hamm (50.78) just missing the Top 20 at 21st.  Dobson also anchored the final leg to help the 4x400 (3:23.48) and 4x100 (43.88) relays to sixth and ninth, respectively.  Charles Meyers, Doug MacAlpine, Field and Dobson comprised the 400, and Meyers, Mockus and Hamm also participated in the 1600.

"Jeff and Josh ran great times in their open 400m, and both were ECAC times. Schuyler had a personal record in the pole vault, so put him into ECAC's," Lynch said. "Ben won his heat of the 1500m in a nine-second PR, missing ECAC's by 2 seconds but getting the SUNYAC mark. He also hit a SUNYAC mark of 1:59.99 in the 800m." 

Andrew Krug went 6-21/4 for eighth place in the high jump, and Jason Burke was 17th in the 400m hurdles at 57.14. 

 Cardinals Record Solid Showing at Williams 4-Way  

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - The Plattsburgh State men's track and field team posted four victories at Saturday's Williams College Quadrangular against the host Ephs, NCAA Division II College of Saint Rose and Division I Siena College.  COMPLETE MEET RESULTS

Jeff Dobson was a double winner in the 400-meter dash and 4x400m relay.  He posted a winning time of 49.67 seconds in the former and then came back to join Charles Meyers, Jordan Bieber and Josh Mockus as the anchor-leg in the latter for a top clocking of 3 minutes and 29.17 seconds.

Benjamin Jackson captured the 1500-meter run in his Cardinals debut, crossing the finish line in 4:14.02.

Schuyler Field continued his great freshman year with a win in the pole vault at 4.11 meters, qualifying for the State University of New York Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships.

Alex Sico was the first collegiate runner in the 5,000m with a time of 15:58.04, which is a SUNYAC qualifier and a personal record.

Doug MacAlpine also qualified for SUNYACs by finishing second in the 200m and third in the 100m with times of 23.42 and 11.62, respectively.

Dan McIlrath also had a strong performance in the 800m, finishing in second place in 2:03.95.

"This early in the outdoor season, we try to use a meet as a rust buster and put people in certain events they haven't done in a while, or just try to compete with newly learned methods or strategies. This weekend we did just that and had some great success," said Cardinals head coach John Lynch.

"Despite chilly weather and soggy throwing areas, our team was able to put it together today," Lynch said.  "There is definitely room for improvement performance-wise, but I am very proud of how competitive we were today. For us to come out in our second outdoor event and compete in every event across the board really impressed me." 

 Plattsburgh Opens Outdoor Season in Grand Canyon State 

GLENDALE, Ariz. - The Plattsburgh State men's track and field team recently competed in its first outdoor meet of the season at the Glendale Community College Invitational.

Freshman Peter Hamm finished fifth in both the 200 and 400-meter dashes with qualifying times for the State University of New York Athletic Conference Championships.
 
Fellow first-year Mike Heymann was the first collegiate finisher in the 1500-meter run with a time of 4 minutes and 19.09 seconds.
 
Joe Ver was the first collegian across the finish line in the 5,000m with a SUNYAC qualifying time of 16:01.63, which was 17 seconds faster than his previous personal best.
 
Andrew Krug placed second in the high jump with a SUNYAC mark of 1.89 meters.

"We found it hard to compete at Sea Level after being up at 7,000 feet of altitude for a week. I think our bodies were put through a lot in the seven days prior to the competition both in training and adapting to a new environment," said Cardinals head coach John Lynch.  "I was most impressed with Joe Ver who has worked very hard this year and is finally seeing it pay dividends." 

 Plattsburgh Ends Up Top 30 at ECACs 

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Plattsburgh State men's indoor track and field team scored 11 points to earn 28th-place out of 58 scoring schools at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships hosted by Harvard University this weekend.  COMPLETE MEET RESULTS

The Cardinals won their heat, and sixth overall, in the 4x440 relay in 3 minutes and 23.61 seconds, and the 4x220 relay was fourth overall (third in heat) with a time of 1:31.87.  

Mike Heymann was sixth in the 5,000-meter run in 15:03.24. 

"I was surprised at how we placed as a team. It was definitely a more competitive meet than the past few years which is a good thing, because this meet is always a good culmination of the season for the team," said head coach John Lynch.  "It is always nice to see season's best races at this time of year and we got that from our relays." 

 Cardinals have Season-High ECAC Qualifiers at NYU Fastrack  

NEW YORK CITY - The Plattsburgh State men's track and field team had its best meet so far this season for qualifying to the Eastern College Athletic Conference Indoor Championships, recording some solid performances at the NYU Fastrack Invitational over the weekend.  COMPLETE MEET RESULTS

Jeff Dobson posted a time of 49.42 seconds in the 400-meter dash and Mike Heymann was the third NCAA Division III finisher and seventh overall in the 5,000-meter run in 14 minutes and 56.19 seconds.

Kevin Kieper, Bobby Grim, Dan McIlrath and Matt Medeiros also qualified for ECAC's in the 4x800m with a clocking of 8:10.78.  

"We had a better weekend than our last meet at SUNYACs," Cardinals head coach John Lynch said.  "We had valiant efforts from Jeff and Mike trying to make NCAA qualification in their respective events, but they came up just short. They will give it another go next weekend at ECACs.

"Mike ran most of his race by himself as the race was divided in half and he led the second pack.  Jeff ran a good race, and if he irons out some of his tactics, should be in prime position to hit NCAA provisional at the ECAC meet." 

 Cardinals are Sixth at SUNYAC Indoor Championships  

GENEVA, N.Y. - The Plattsburgh State men's indoor track and field team scored 36 points to finish in sixth place at the State University of New York Athletic Conference Championships held Saturday at Bristol Field House on the campus of Hobart and William Smith College.  Cortland won the team title with 160 points while the Cardinals were ahead of Oswego and Fredonia.  COMPLETE MEET RESULTS

Senior Jeff Dobson had Plattsburgh's highest finish of the day with a second-place showing in the 400-meter dash, clocking in 50.13 seconds for an Eastern College Athletic Conference qualifying time.  Dobson was also seventh in the 200 (22.74, ECACs) and he anchored the 4x400 relay that went fourth with an ECAC performance of 3 minutes and 25.82 seconds.

Freshman Mike Heymann also shined in the 5,000- (15:14.22, 3rd) and 3,000-meter (8:55.74, 7th) runs, both going for ECAC qualifying standards.

More details to come later, including coaches post-meet quotes from John Lynch.  

Dobson Carries Cardinals' Torch at BU Valentine Invitational

BOSTON - Senior Jeff Dobson broke the school indoor record in the 500-meter dash at the Boston University Valentine Invitational, highlighting the Plattsburgh State men's track and field weekend.  Dobson finished the race in 1 minute and 5.05, which was good for eighth overall as the first NCAA Division II-III competitor in the event.  COMPLETE RESULTS 

Dobson also anchored the 4x400 relay team with a split of 48.2 seconds toward a time of 3:21.91, qualifying for the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships.  Dobson was joined by junior Geoff Sitch and two freshmen in Peter Hamm and Charles Meyers.  

Mike Heymann also had an outstanding run in the 5K with a personal-record time of 14:56.42--just missing the NCAA provisional standard.   

"Mike is a freshman phenom who put himself on a short list of Plattsburgh men's track athletes who have broken 15 minutes in the indoor 5K in the program's history," said head coach John Lynch.

Sitch also qualified for ECAC's in the 200m (22.83) and Hamm (23.26) made the SUNYAC's in the event, both lowering their season's best times. Sophomore Doug MacAlpine also qualified for the ECAC 200m with a time of 22.89.

Andrew Krug had the team's best showing in the field events, going 6-feet, 2-inches for 16th-place in the high jump.

All told, the Cardinals had five ECAC and 10 SUNYAC performances.

Cardinals Have Strong Showing at Division I Meet                    

HANOVER, N.H. -  Senior sprinter Jeff Dobson led the Plattsburgh State men's track and field team's efforts at the NCAA Division I Dartmouth Indoor Classic in Leverone Field House over the weekend.  COMPLETE MEET RESULTS

Dobson qualified for the State University of New York Athletic Conference Championships in the 60-meter dash with a personal best of 7.16 seconds. He also qualified for the Eastern College Athletic Conference meet in the 200m, which he won with a time of 22.5 and set a another personal record in.  He also anchored the 4x200 relay that placed second just behind the University of Vermont.

"Dobson is showing how to be a team leader," Plattsburgh State coach John Lynch said. "He is working hard in practice everyday and it is paying off in his results."

The Cardinals also got a strong performance from freshman Schuyler Field, who qualified for the ECAC's with a 14-foot height in the pole vault.  That was good for fourth place.

Mike Heyman finished in 4 minutes and 31.33 seconds in the mile run and Bobby Grim also qualified for SUNYAC's in the event with a 4:34.34.  Kevin Kieper, who ran a personal best in the 800m of a 2:00.29, finished fifth and received the team's athlete of the meet award.

"Kieper has had limited training due to shin splints since October," Lynch said. "He has worked hard at cross training and I am very happy to see it paying for him."

Geoff Sitch (23.13), Peter Hamm (23.55) and Doug MacAlpine (23.7) qualified for the SUNYAC's in the 200m, Jason Guennel (9.2) in the 60m high hurdles and Andrew Krug (6-2, 3rd) in the high jump.

"Things are really starting to come together for both squads; we have a solid core group that have qualified for SUNYACs," Lynch said. "Now, we are just trying to get more individuals into ECACs and NCAAs.

"That will be one of our main goals going into the highly competitive meet at Boston University next weekend. We hope to come home with some great performances. Today was a great stepping stone for us to do so."   

Seven Cardinals Meet SUNYAC Standards at SLU                   

CANTON, N.Y. -  Sophomore Doug MacAlpine led the Plattsburgh State men's track and field team at Saturday's Saints Indoor Invitational hosted by Saint Lawrence University in the Newell Field House, recording two State University of New York Athletic Conference Championships qualifying times in the sprints.  MacAlpine placed fifth in the 200-meter dash in 23.91 seconds and seventh in the 55m in 6.91.  COMPLETE MEET RESULTS

Kevin Kieper, seventh in 53.30, and Charles Meyers, 12th in 53.60, both made it in the 400m while three Cardinals qualified in field events: Andrew Krug, second in the high jump with a leap of 6 feet and 1-1/2 inches; Peter Hamm, fifth, in the triple jump in 40-43/4; and Schuyler Field, fourth in the pole vault with an effort of 13-51/4 inches.

Fielding a partial squad, Plattsburgh finished seventh out of eight teams; the host Saints won with 164 points.

In other Cardinal action, freshman Michael Heymann posted the best performance at the Boston University Terrier Invitational when he placed 19th in the 5,000-meter run.  He finished in 15 minutes and 5.57 seconds and defeated 45 other competitors from NCAA Division I-II programs and unattached athletes.  In addition, Jeff Dobson (49.76) and Geoff Sitch (50.09) were 24th and 29th in the 400m.    

Cardinals Kick Off 2008 at Saints Indoor Classic                

CANTON, N.Y. -  The Plattsburgh State men's track and field team placed second at Saturday's Saint Lawrence University Saints Indoor Classic held at the Newell Field House, securing 12 qualifiers to the State University of New York Athletic Conference Championships and six for the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships.  The host Saints won in the team standings with 149 points, followed by Plattsburgh with 98 and Oneonta was third, 84.  COMPLETE MEET RESULTS

Freshman Peter Hamm competed in three events:  fourth in the 55-meter dash (7.09 seconds), sixth in the 500m (1 minute and 9.25 seconds) to barely miss the ECAC standard and he was a member of the winning 4x200m relay squad that qualified for ECAC's in 1:33.56.  Juniors Geoff Sitch and Jason Guennel ran the second and third sprints in the relay.

Senior Jeff Dobson was on that winning relay and he also was victorious in the 500m in 1:05.8 for an ECAC qualifying performance.

Freshman Mike Heymann finished in second place in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:54.56 for an ECAC-qualifying performance.

"I am quite impressed with our newcomers (so far)," Plattsburgh head coach John Lynch said after the meet.  "We don't have a huge squad this year and lack some numbers in certain areas, but the people who did come in this year have done a fantastic job stepping up to the plate. They spent five weeks at home for the semester break and have come back in phenomenal shape.  I am confident things will get better as the season continues." 

Dec. 8, 2007

Cardinals Open Indoor Campaign at Saint Lawrence              

CANTON, N.Y. -   The Plattsburgh State men's track and field squad kicked off the 2007-08 season under new head coach John Lynch at Saturday's SLU Holiday Relays in the Newell Fieldhouse. This was a non-team scoring meet.  Click here for complete meet results.

The Cardinals won the 4x400-meter relay in 3 minutes and 37.29 seconds, including Peter Hamm, Mike Reale, Kevin Kieper and Dan McIlrath. Senior captain Jeff Dobson was second in the 400-meter dash at 50.50 seconds, qualifying him for the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships. All told, the team had 13 State University of New York Athletic Conference qualifying performances.

"We did what we wanted to do today, which was to see what our freshman could do and get some rust off because it was our first indoor meet," Lynch said.  "The team worked great together.  They supported each other throughout the meet, which is something we are working on improving.

"Now we go into a five-week training cycle before returning to St. Lawrence on January 12th. We will look to start to see how we stack up as a team then."

In addition, Brian Mockus recorded personal bests in the 400m and 55m, both SUNYAC qualifying performances, in his freshman debut. Beau Cameron also qualified for SUNYACs in the triple jump.

"Those two guys will work well together as multi-eventers throughout their Plattsburgh careers," Lynch said.

Lynch held out most of the team's middle- and long-distance runners to get some rest after a long cross country season this fall.

Lynch Takes Coaching Reins, Santaniello Added to Staff            

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -  Plattsburgh State athletics director Bruce Delventhal has formally announced that John Lynch will serve as the director of cross country and track&field and Ted Santaniello will be an assistant coach for the Cardinals track and field teams.

"Ted brings a lot to the table.  He is a former captain of this program and a former school record holder.  He also has experience working with some of the best speed coaches in the country and will bring some new ideas to the program.  So he has some top-level experience," Lynch said.  "Ted is also a championship athlete and has always performed at the highest level under difficult circumstances. That ability will show through in his coaching."

Santaniello, of Ticonderoga High School, is a 2006 Plattsburgh graduate with a degree in psychology and a minor in personal training.  A two-time NCAA qualifier, he helped set four indoor and outdoor school records during his four-year men's track career with the Cardinals.  He was a three-time State University of New York Athletic Conference gold medalist in the 400-meter dash, 2005 outdoor 1600m relay and 2006 outdoor 1600m relay--breaking facility records for the last two events and setting a 25-year-old SUNYAC championship benchmark of 3 minutes and 17.69 seconds in the 2006 outdoor 1600 relay.

Lynch just completed his third season as head cross country coach in style, leading the Cardinals to a national runner-up trophy at the NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championships in Northfield, Minn.  The program this season set school records for best NCAA finish (2nd), highest national ranking (No. 5), consecutive weeks in the coaches' Top 35 poll (eight) and three All-Americans in the same year (Allison Busby, Alyssa Recny, Toni Wiszowaty).  He was named the Atlantic Regional Coach of the Year after the school won its second women's regional title (Plattsburgh won the New York crown in 1998.). 

Lynch replaces Brett Willmott, who accepted an assistant track coaching position at the University of Vermont in September.