Erie Community College, State University of New York

May 11, 2009
Kats complete record setting national meet

The Erie Community College men’s track and field team finished fifth and the women finished ninth at the NJCAA Division III championships in Alfred over the weekend.

Erie athletes brought home a pair of national championships, shattering two NJCAA Championship Meet records in the process. The men’s 4x400 relay team of Jared Mutka, Nick Jackson, Christopher Anderson and Morris Taylor closed out the meet in 3:18.01 to finish first and break a 10-year old meet record by .4 seconds.

Sophomore Brent Titus continued his dominance in the discus with a personal best throw of 55.69 meters, outdistancing the rest of the field by more than nine meters and shattering the national meet record by more than seven meters. Titus also finished fifth in the hammer throw with a throw of 48.08 meters and seventh in the shot put with a throw of 13.43 meters. Freshman Mike golombek was fourth in the discus with a throw of 43.51 meters.

Erie also received a good meet from Aaron Ryan. Ryan finished second in the decathlon with 5,252 points and was third in the high jump, clearing 1.9 meters.

Taylor finished second in the 400-meter dash in a time of 48.46 and also was a member of the 4x100-meter relay team that finished second in a time of 42.23. Alvin Codner, Jackson and Anderson also were on that relay team.

Erie had four top-four finishes in the women’s championship. Gina Adornetto led the way with a second place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 12:30.32. She also was a member of the 4x800-meter relay team that finished second in 10:09.57 and the 4x400-meter relay team that finished fourth in 4:21.38. Jessica Campus, Elise Cramer and Kylie Reach also were on those relay teams.

Cramer added a fourth-place finish in the 800-meter run. She covered the course in 2:39.50.

Assistant coach Tim Miller was recognized with the first-ever National Assistant Coach of the Year Award.

May 2, 2009
Brent Titus, Gina Adornetto earn top honors at Region III Championships

The Erie Community College men’s track and field team finished fourth out of six teams at the Region III Track and Field Championships held Friday and Saturday in Orchard Park. Meanwhile, Erie finished fifth in the women’s competition.

Erie’s Brent Titus and Gina Adornetto each set a Region III championship record en route to garnering top all around recognition at the event.

Titus was named the Male Field Athlete of the Meet after he set a championship record in the discus with a throw of 50.29 meters. He won the event by more than seven meters over the second place competitor. Titus also won the hammer throw with a 46.17 meter toss and was third in the shot put with a throw of 13.28 meters.

Adornetto earned Female Track Athlete of the Meet recognition after establishing a new meet standard in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 12:04.43, winning the event by 13 seconds. She also finished first in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:30.79. Adornetto also joined with Jessica Campus, Elise Cramer and Kylie Reach to finish second in the 4x400 meter relay in 4:28.12 and second in the 4x800 meter relay in 10:29.62.

Earning second place finishes on the men’s side for the Kats were Jordan Manns in the 100-meter dash in 11:18, Morris Taylor in the 400-meter dash in 48.83 and Kevin Wartinger in the 400-meter hurdles in 56.77. The 4x400 team of Christopher Anderson, Nick Jackson, Taylor and Jared Mutka also took second place in a time of 3:25.11.

The final men’s standings were Delhi (174), Alfred State and Mohawk Valley (167), Erie (111), Herkimer (31) and Finger Lakes (27).

The final women’s standings were Mohawk Valley (213.75), Delhi (144), Herkimer (126.25), Alfred State (79), Erie (65) and Finger Lakes (44).

April 28, 2009
Men’s track and field wins Houghton Invitational

The Erie Community college men’s track and field team took first place out of three teams at the Houghton Invitational Saturday. Meanwhile, the women finished second out of three teams.

The men totaled 76 points, finishing ahead of Houghton College (51) and Finger Lakes Community College (37). Erie’s male athletes finished first in nine of the 17 events.

Brent Titus finished first in three of the throwing events. His shot put of 12.99 meters and hammer throw of 47.03 meters are Erie’s top throws of the season. He also finished first in the discus with a throw of 47.42 meters.

Also in the field events, Nick Jackson topped the field in the long jump with a 6.37 meter jump and Scott Dillon won the pole vault with a 3.04 meter vault.

On the track, Alvin Codner won the 100-meter dash in 11.5 seconds. Morris Taylor was first in the 200-meter dash in 21.97. Jordan Manns was first in the 400-meter dash in 49.82. Corey Pepero won the 1,500-meter run in 4:18.73.

In the women’s competition, Erie placed second with 36 points. Houghton won the event with 77 points.

Gina Adornetto finished first in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 12:46.82. Katie Lauricella won the pole vault with a 2.13 meter jump and Jessica Campus’ triple jump of 9.68 meters qualified her for the NJCAA Division III national championships.

April 14, 2009
Men’s track captures three events at Roberts Wesleyan

Brent Titus improved upon his school record setting performance to capture the discus event at the Roberts Wesleyan Invitational Saturday. Erie Community College’s men track and field team captured three events at the Invitational.

Titus’ throw of 50.37 meters won the discus event by more than eight meters over second place Ray Lund of Brockport State. Furthermore, his throw was more than eight feet farther than any other NJCAA Division III competitor this season.

Morris Taylor outdistanced 41 other runners in the 400-meter dash. He finished the race in 50.21.

Erie’s 4x100-meter relay team also took first in a time of 42.39.

On the women’s side, Jessica Campus took fifth place in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. She finished to 100-meter dash in 13.43 and the 200-meter dash in 27.58. Gina Adornetto was fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 12:32.92.

March 27, 2009
Erie men finish second, women third at Alfred State Quad Meet

The Erie Community College men’s and women’s track and field teams captured 10 events in the season-opening meet at Alfred State Friday, March 27. Erie finished second on the men’s side and third on the women’s side. Alfred State won both team competitions.

Erie received a pair of wins from Brent Titus, who set a school record in the discus with a throw of 49.23 meters. He also threw the shot put 12.34 meters.

The other Erie winners on the men’s side were Jordan Manns in the 200-meter dash (21.5), Morris Taylor in the 400-meter dash (49.1), Corey Peperro in the 5,000-meter run (17:11.4), Steve Oehler in the 110-meter hurdles (16.8), Kevin Wartinger in the 400-meter hurdles (58.8) and Aaron Ryan in the high jump (1.92 meters).

On the women’s side, Jessica Campas won the triple jump in 9.36 meters and Erie also won the 4x100 meter relay in 54.2 seconds.

Women's indoor track claims Region III title

The Erie Community College indoor track teams walked away with a Regional title and a runner-up at the Cornell Open Saturday afternoon.

The Lady Kats won the schools first Region III title in indoor track since 1996 with a 22-point advantage over Mohawk Valley Community College.

They were led by four-time All-Region performer Gina Adornotto (Clarence/Clarence). She won the 5,000 meters, 1,000 meters, and mile runs and was a leg in the the 4 x 800 relay team that won the event.

Other winner for the Lady Kats incuded Jessica Campus (Cheektowaga/JFK) in the 60 meters, and Kylie Reach (Cheektowaga/Maryvale) in the 400 meters. Reach and Adornotto teamed with Sam Gray (Kenmore/Kenmore West) and Elise Cramer (Amherst/Sweet Home) to win the 4 x 800 meter relay.

The men's team finished second to Alfred State College by 38 points, scoring 162 points overall.

Jordan Manns (Rochester/LA Webber) led the men with two titles, one record-setting performance in the 200 meters (22.30) and as a leg in the 4 x 400 relay. Morris Taylor (Albion/Albion) was a double-winner, in the 400 and 600 meter events and was also in the 4 x 400 relay.

The other members of the winning relay team were Nick Jackson (Cleveland/Maple Heights) and Chris Anderson (Pittsburgh/Northside Urban).