Houghton, NY— The Sage Colleges' men's outdoor track and field squad opened action on Friday evening at the 2019 Empire 8 Track and Field Championships on Friday on the campus of Houghton College. The two-day event will wrap with the crowning of the league's men's and women's team champions as well as individual champions in 18 events on Friday and another 28 events.
Sage's teams are directed by rookie head coach David Taranto and assistant coach Spencer Patterson. New to the programs this spring, this pair has helped the Gator men's and women's team break school records in 11 different events, while some events have had their school marks broken multiple times already.2018 Empire 8 Championship.
For the Gator men's team, 2019 has been a banner year as well. After the first day of the championship, the Gators got a number of strong performances as well. Rookie Ramosaj Williams (Hyde Park, NY/Franklin D. Roosevelt) finished in 12th in the 100 meter dash on 11.63 but did not advance to the finals. In the javelin, junior Arnoldo Burnett (Bronx, NY/John F. Kennedy) had a throw of 36.30 meters and finished in 11th place.
Action wraps on Saturday in the championships for the Gators, with hopes of possibly qualifying for the NCAA's, a Sage first for the two programs.