EMPIRE 8 ANNOUNCES MEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD HONORS
Nazareth’s Wheeler named Co-Field Athlete of the Year

ROCHESTER, N.Y (February 28, 2007)—Sophomore Brandon Wheeler (pictured) of was named Co-Field Athlete of the Year at the 2007 Empire 8 Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championship held in conjunction with the New York State Collegiate Track Conference Championships.

Wheeler, of Penn Yan, N.Y. and a graduate of Penn Yan Academy, amassed a school-record 3,115 points in the pentathlon. He set two more school records as he won the high jump and long jump with school record leaps of 1.98 meters (6 feet, 6 inches) and 6.12 meters (20 feet, 1 inch) respectively. He placed first in the Empire 8 in the five-event competition. Wheeler won the 400-meter dash in an Empire 8 championship record time of 51.00 seconds to earn first-team honors

Freshman Matt Case earned second-team all-conference honors for the 400-meter dash after finishing second to Wheeler in a time of :53.22. Junior Nick Stenuf received first-team all-conference honors after winning the 800-meter run in 1:54.91, which broke the conference championship meet record and provisionally qualifies him to compete at the NCAA Championships held at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terra Haute, Ind.

The 1600-meter relay team consisting of Wheeler, Case, Stenuf, and senior Craig Connelly received first-team all-conference honors after placing first with a time of 3:26.97, which was almost seven seconds ahead of second-place Ithaca. The 800-meter relay team also received all-conference honors with a second-team selection. The relay consisting of Wheeler, Case, and freshmen Justin Banks and Jon Qazi finished in second place with a time of 1:35.32 just .04 seconds behind Ithaca.

One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2006-07 Men’s Track and Field Sportsman of the Year Team. Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete’s experience in conjunction with an institution’s educational mission. Nazareth’s representative of sportsman of the year was senior Larry DiCesare.

Empire 8 2007 Men’s Indoor Track and Field All-Conference Teams
# - denotes Empire 8 Championship meet record
+ - denotes did not advance to final

55 Meter Dash
1st Team – Jonathan Lin, Ithaca College :06.78+
2nd Team – Querstein Smith, RIT :06.83+

55 Meter Hurdles
1st Team – Jimmy Sorel, RIT :07.99
2nd Team – Michael Wodarski, Ithaca College :08.05

200 Meter Dash
1st Team – Maurice Herring, Ithaca College :23.95+
2nd Team – Christopher Covino, Ithaca College :24.19+

400 Meter Dash
1st Team – Brandon Wheeler, Nazareth College :51.00#
2nd Team – Matt Case, Nazareth College+ :53.22+

500 Meter Dash
1st Team – Lee Consolo, Alfred University 1:07.73
2nd Team – Matt Manzi, Ithaca College 1:09.66

One Mile Run
1st Team – Michael Hardbarger, RIT 4:18.95#
2nd Team – Andrew Varble, RIT 4:23.20

800 Meter Run
1st Team – Nick Stenuf, Nazareth College 1:54.91#
2nd Team – Jeff Abbott, Ithaca College 1:58.14

1,000 Meter Run
1st Team – Andrew Varble, RIT 2:33.92
2nd Team – Scott Walker, Ithaca College 2:35.99

3,000 Meter Run
1st Team – Nate Lowe, RIT 8:38.87#
2nd Team – Tim Shea, Ithaca College 8:42.41

5,000 Meter Run
1st Team – Nate Lowe, RIT 14:48.42#
2nd Team – Fontana Fluke, Alfred University 15:08.92

800 Meter Relay
1st Team – Ithaca College 1:35.28
Michael Wodarski, Joshua Diorio, Toby Wyckoff, Maurice Herring
2nd Team – Nazareth College 1:35.32
Brandon Wheeler, Justin Banks, Matt Case, Jon Qazi

1,600 Meter Relay
1st Team – Nazareth College 3:26.97
Brandon Wheeler, Craig Connelly, Matt Case, Nick Stenuf
2nd Team – Ithaca College 3:33.71
Michael Wodarski, Toby Wyckoff, Matt Manzi, Dennis Akey

3,200 Meter Relay
1st Team – RIT 8:03.62
Marc O’Donnell, Andrew Varble, Okechukwu Onwubu, Michael Hardbarger
2nd Team – Ithaca College 8:03.99
Jeff Abbott, Steve Desmond, Joel Trager, Scott Walker

Distance Medley Relay
1st Team – RIT 10:16.61#
Andrew Varble, Jonathan Sealander, Marc O’Donnell, Michael Hardbarger
2nd Team – Ithaca College 10:33.61
Curt Bell, Dana Breeden, Joel Trager, Tim Shea

High Jump
1st Team – Dennis Akey, Ithaca College 1.72m

Pole Vault
1st Team – Michael Herb, RIT 4.40m
2nd Team – Andrew Brown, Ithaca College 4.10m

Long Jump
1st Team – James Aucoin, Ithaca College 6.17m

Triple Jump
1st Team – Dennis Akey, Ithaca College 12.25m
2nd Team – James Aucoin, Ithaca College 12.16m

Shot Put
1st Team – Ryan Squillacioti, Alfred University 14.26m#
2nd Team – Timothy Wesley, RIT 14.08m

35-Pound Weight Throw
1st Team – Brian Branning, Ithaca College 14.96m

Pentathlon
1st Team – Brandon Wheeler, Nazareth College 3,115
2nd Team – Cory Petermann, Ithaca College 2,971

Sportsman of the Year
Name Yr. School
Fontana Fluke Sr. Alfred University
Jeff Abbott Sr. Ithaca College
Larry DiCesare Sr. Nazareth College
Evan Curbeam Sr. Rochester Institute of Technology