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Lalone Qualifies for Regionals In 200, 4x200
ITHACA, N.Y. – The nationally seventh-ranked Cortland men's indoor track and field team showed off its depth with 15 All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference (AARTFC) qualifying performances at the Ithaca College Bomber Invitational. The quartet of Peyton Lalone (Ogdensburg/Ogdensburg Free Academy), Jaheim Dotson (Coram/Longwood), Connor Lewis (Glen Ridge) and Rich Samuels (Wallkill) finished second in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:23.52 that's an AARTFC qualifier and currently ranks 13th nationally in Division III. Cortland also placed second in the 4x200-meter relay with Liam Joyce (Dryden), Chjuvaughn Cameron (Riverhead), Justin Arranz (North Babylon) and Craig Denton (Albertson/Herricks) finishing in 1:34.30 (that relay is an open event at the AARTFC meet so there is no qualifying standard). Wendell Brand (Sleepy Hollow) hit two AARTFC marks during the day. He was second of 30 in the long jump at 7.03 meters (23' 0.75"), which ranks 20th nationally, and he was fourth of 24 in the triple jump at 13.94 meters (45' 9"). Micah Assibey-Bonsu (Central Islip) also met the regional standard in the triple jump with his fifth-place distance of 13.91 meters (45' 7.75"). Lalone was one of three Red Dragons with regional performances in the 200-meter dash. He finished fourth out of 69 sprinters in 22.42 seconds to rank 16th nationally. Dotson was fifth in 22.73 seconds and Brent DiVittorio (Brewster) placed seventh in 22.90 seconds. DiVittorio also had the fastest time in the 60-meter hurdles in the preliminaries at 8.22 seconds. Brett Morse (Saratoga Springs) met the AARTFC standard with his prelim time of 8.62 seconds and was sixth in the finals at 8.67 seconds. Nolan Vest (Coram/Longwood) finished second out of 56 runners in the mile in 4:19.94 and presently ranks 25th nationally in the event. Dotson and Lewis each hit AARTFC marks in the 400-meter dash. Dotson was second of 32 in 50.86 seconds and Lewis placed fourth in 51.03 seconds. Samuels was fourth of 48 in the 800 meters in 1:57.56. Also posting AARTFC qualifying efforts were Dane Sorensen (Warwick/Warwick Valley) in the pole vault (third place, 4.40 meters/14' 5.25") and David Bernstein (Norwich) in the weight throw (15.98 meters/52' 5.25"). Cortland will head to Utica College next Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 8-9, for the Utica Blue & Orange Invitational and Multi. Said Coach Steve Patrick "Big day for the Red Dragons! Between the first week of classes and a hard week of training, we definitely had some tired legs out there today, but you wouldn't know it based on some of the stellar performances and efforts that we saw. We also had a number of really good things happen in some field events that didn't necessarily translate into further distances, but were crucial steps to take moving forward. While we always have room for improvement, it is hard not to be really excited about what happened out there today! On the men's side, there were a number of highlights to be proud of. Our men's 200 and 400 showed off a great deal of depth – three men were under the 23-second barrier (Peyton Lalone, Jaheim Dotson, and Brent DiVittorio), with another nine guys under 24 seconds! The open 400 was pretty deep as well, led by Jaheim with 50.86 and Connor Lewis sooooo close with a 51.03. The depth showed off nicely in the 4x400 relay as Connor and Jaheim were joined by Peyton (who led off under 51 seconds) and Rich Samuels to run a season's best of 3:23.52. We're looking forward to a good week of work, and getting back into competition next week at 'the Hutt' in Utica, NY"
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