The men's track & field team competed in the NJCAA National Championships at Mohawk Valley CC over the weekend.
In a strong performance in Utica, the team placed 12th out of 17 teams, earned four medals, and set four new school records in the process.
The weekend was headlined by Connor Vredenburgh setting two of those school records. Vredenburgh placed 10th overall in the javelin throw with a distance of 39.55 meters, which broke his own previous school record. He followed that up with a 5th place overall finish in the discus throw at 36.40 meters, which also broke his own previous school record and earned him a medal.
Dandre James also earned a medal by taking 4th place overall in the triple jump with a distance of 13.36 meters, which broke his own school record for the event. This new record for James is 0.64 meters (almost 2.0 feet) farther than his previous record, which is a tremendous improvement. James also finished in 11th place for the long jump with a distance of 6.18 meters.
Thomas Eccleston accounted for the fourth school record set by the team. Eccleston followed up his time of 16.10 seconds in the Semifinals of the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 15.59 seconds in the Finals, setting a personal record and a school record. He finished 3rd in the Finals of the event, earning a medal and achieving NJCAA All-American status. Eccleston also finished in the top 10 of the high jump, just missing a medal at 9th place overall, with a height of 1.73 meters.
David Akulis was the fourth member of the team to medal at the meet. Akulis finished in the top 10 in the high jump with an 8th place overall finish on a height of 1.78 meters.
John Miller placed 14th in the discus throw with a distance of 28.77 meters.
The success demonstrated by the team at the NJCAA National Championships is an excellent way to wrap up a season which included countless high-level, record-setting performances.
@BroomeAthletics
