The men’s track and field team captured its sixth consecutive Empire 8 Conference Outdoor Championship and eighth in the past nine seasons Saturday in Butterfield Stadium. The Bombers’ final score was 230 points — 104 points higher than second place Stevens Institute of Technology.
The Blue and Gold had five Eastern College Athletic Conference qualifying times, as senior co-captain Dan Craighead and junior Nathan Bickell finished in the top two in the 5,000-meter run. Craighead finished with a time of 15:14.41 and Bickell was .19 seconds behind that pace.
Sophomore Brennan Edmonds qualified for the ECAC Championships in the 400-meter hurdles with a first place finish and a time of 55.84 seconds. Edmonds was also a part of the 4×100-meter relay team of senior co-captain Doug Koury, sophomore Jake Willis and freshman Rashaad Barrett that qualified for the regional championships. They finished in first with a time of 43.25 seconds.
In addition to the team’s many ECAC qualifiers, the South Hill squad had top two finishers in four events at the meet.
Freshman Kevin Davis ran in the 100- and 200-meter dash events, finishing in 11.89 and 23.50 seconds respectively. Davis said the wet track made it hard for him to run.
“There were puddles collecting on the lining of the track and it was pretty hard for the staff to get rid of them,” he said. “It was tough to get a grip on the track.”
Edmonds said he had difficulty starting his race.
“Getting a good push off on a wet track is hard, and a good start is key for a sprinter,” he said.
Craighead said he prefers the colder weather because he believes it’s easier to pace himself.
“The cooler weather allows you to not heat up too much when you’re running a longer distance,” Craighead said. “It allows you to focus more on the mental aspect of running.”
