HOUGHTON, NY – The Highlander track & field teams hosted the annual Houghton December Classic on Friday evening. A total of 15 teams competed in the meet, making it the largest December collegiate competition since the construction of the Kerr-Pegula fieldhouse. Teams from NCAA Division I, II, and III were represented at the meet. The Houghton teams were able to bust off the rust with four top ten all-time Houghton performances. Gerald Carris had two of them in the 60HH (9.19), Shot Put (10.15m), J.J. Eustace in the 600m (1:28.65), and Eli Sproull in the 300m (40.09).
 
Other highlights included Amanda Burrichter finishing in 2^nd in the 3,000m in a time of 10:54.85, after pacing in the 5,000m earlier in the afternoon. Hayden Williamson finished 3^rd in the High Jump (1.51m), just losing on a four-way tie at that height. Rachel Domaracki and Kennedy McCoy finished 3^rd and 4^th in the 5,000m in E8 qualifying times of 19:53.81 and 19:56.45, respectively. Finally, Ali Wisniewski ran to a 3^rd place finish in the 400m (1:04.06).
 
Based on the new standards to qualify for the Indoor Empire 8 Championships, the Houghton track & field teams had 25 qualifying performances on Friday evening.
 
Coach Hager discussed the meet saying, "There's no real test associated with this meet for us. It was just about feeling the rush of competing again before a long break. If it went well, great, ride that wave. If it did not, then we know what needs to be worked on whether focus or fitness. Several athletes got their first taste of collegiate competition….how exciting. This team has a great core of leadership and experience, and I do believe it's going to be a very exciting year for us."
 
The teams will be back in action on 12/9 at Nazareth College.