Men's Track and Field | 3/7/2015 4:26:00 PM

Results
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Several members of Nazareth's men's and women's track and field teams traveled to New York to compete in the ECAC Championships, which were held at the New York Armory. It is the final opportunity for athletes to reach qualifying marks for next week's NCAA Division III Championships in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Junior Luis Rivera placed third in the weight throw with a mark of 19.18 meters (62 ft., 11 1/4 in.). Rivera's mark broke his previous school record of 18.44 meters. Rivera's performance in the weight throw on Saturday moves him into the top-six in the event nationally. Sean Enos, who won Saturday's weight throw with a mark of 20.17 meters (66 ft., 2 1/4 in.), is ranked second nationally. John Dayton of Springfield, who took second at the ECAC meet, is ranked fourth nationally.

In the women's 400-meter dash, senior Hannah Brackley also turned in a third-place finish. She crossed the line with a time of :57.63. Brackley took more than two-tenths of a second off her previous record of :57.86, and it moves her into the top-10 times in Division III. Buffalo State's Jazlyn Porter, who won the event with a time of :56.49, and Union's Noemie Bechu, who was second Saturday with a time of :56.89, improved their nationally-ranked times. Both runners are now ranked in the top five overall in the 400.

Freshman Nick LaBarbera also broke a school record on Saturday. LaBarbera finished second in the 500-meter dash with a time of 1:04.70. LaBarbera's previous school record was 1:05.58. The 500-meter dash is not an event at the NCAA Championships. St. Joseph's Mario Mayen won Saturday's event with a time of 1:04.48. Sophomore Matt Battaglia was sixth in the 500-meter event with a time of 1:06.03. In the women's 500-meter event, freshman Samantha Goble was eighth overall with a time of 1:19.27.

A day after breaking the indoor record in the 800-meters at St. Lawrence, senior Michaela Gildemeyer was on the track in the same event in New York. Gildemeyer's time of 2:20.91 on Saturday placed her 12th overall, however, the school-record time of 2:15.05 that she ran on Friday, ranks 23rd nationally.

In the long jump, junior Taylor Pierson was 13th. She had a mark of 5.19 meters (17ft., 1/2 in.).

Nazareth's women's 4x400-meter relay also competed in the ECAC Championships on Saturday. The team of Gildemeyer, Goble, Andrea Larnard, and Brackley placed ninth with a school-record time of 4:00.84. The previous school record in the event was 4:05.53, which was set at the beginning of February.

In the men's meet, LaBarbera's eight points, combined with six points from Rivera, and four points from Battaglia gave Nazareth 18 team points to place them 19th overall. Amherst edged Brockport and Cortland for first place overall with 42 team points. Brockport and Cortland each finished with 41.5 team points.

In the women's meet, the six points from Brackley and one point from Goble gave the Golden Flyers seven team points, which placed them 42nd overall. Buffalo State took first with 61 team points. Ithaca was second with 38 points.

Updated national rankings for next week's NCAA national championships can be found on the Track & Field Results Reporting System.

The Golden Flyers who qualify for the national championships in North Carolina will compete March 13th-14th. Nazareth is scheduled to open the outdoor season March 27th-28th at the Emory Classic in Atlanta, Georgia.