ROCHESTER, NY – The Houghton track & field teams competed at Nazareth College for the Last Chance Conference Tune Up Invitational. Most of the athletes competed in distances on the track to 'tune up' or prep for the Empire 8 championships, from a training perspective. Five all-time top 10 performances were achieved during the evening. As the regular season indoor track & field meets wind down, Houghton has amassed 77 Empire 8 qualifying performances! Empire 8 entries, and declarations will occur early next week, and the field will be set for the championships.
 
A big highlight of the evening came when Hayden Williamson cleared 1.57m to win the high jump, and qualify for the All-Atlantic Region Championships in NYC in a couple weeks. The men's triple jump was certainly a highlight, as Avery Belanger popped off a #2 all-time mark of 12.72m, and Gavin Luckey has a big personal best of 12.38m. They sit #5 and #10 in the Empire 8 with those marks.
 
"A lot of our athletes were excited to compete in some different events, and prep for Empire 8 championships. Sometimes when this happens, you're much more relaxed and can really gain additional confidence from the pressure being redirected. In a different regard, most of our athletes who were looking to increase Empire 8 seeds, or qualify for regionals, were able to do so. Going into next week (Empire 8 Championships) feeling confidence was really the key for the evening. Next week will entail lightening the body and sharpening the mind to be ready to for championship level performances," commented Coach Hager.
 
The track & field teams will next compete in the Empire 8 Indoor Track & Field Championships at Nazareth College on Friday and Saturday, 2/24-25.