UTICA, N.Y. -
Matt Lecky had wins in the mile and 3000 meters,
Luke Lyons captured the 500 meters and ran on a winning relay team and
Josh Cohen was victorious in the weight throw as the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's track & field team returned to competition after a long break and finished second of 15 schools in the multi-divisional Utica College Winter Invitational. The Engineers compiled 125 points, which trailed only SUNY Cortland's 137 points and easily outdistanced the host Pioneers, who finished third with 75.5 points.
Lecky, a junior making his indoor season debut, ran the mile in 4:16.17 to outpace Timothy Boyce of St. Lawrence, who ran a 4:18.16. Lecky started in the middle of the pack before climbing into third place at approximately the 1:30 mark. He moved up one spot with a 32.29 split before taking first with a 30.92 to get to the 3:16.17. His final two splits of 30.23 and 29.78 - the only one under 30.00 in the race - sealed the win. Rensselaer's
John Reed was third with a time of 4:18.94.
In the 3000 meters, Lecky ran an 8:42.23 and defeated Siena's Killian McNamee by .30 with Reed placing third in 8:44.61. Once again, Lecky started in the middle of the pack before reaching first place at the 800 meter mark. He remained in the lead until 2000 meters, when he dropped to second and eventually to third, but closed with splits of 34.35, 32.17 and 28.77 to earn his second victory of the meet. Reed ran in front through the first 600 meters and remained with the lead pack throughout.
Jason Gibbons was fifth overall with a time of 8:48.69.
Lyons captured the 500 meters with a time of 1:06.78, which was nearly four seconds in front of the runner-up, Jaevon Ardrey of Utica (1:10.27). The RPI junior took the lead right from the start with a split of 37.72 to Ardrey's 40.31 and then went 29.07 in the next 200 meters on his way to victory. RPI also had the fifth and sixth place finishers in the event with
Alex Ryan running a 1:11.82 and
Raymond Rivituso clocking a 1:11.85.
It was Ryan,
Stephen Fajen, Rivituso and Lyons who combined to win the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:36.08. The Engineers were in third through the first 400 meters before climbing to second and then slipping to third. Lyons, the anchor, closed it out with a 50.73, passing two competitors for the win. St. Lawrence had the second place squad, which crossed in 3:38.81.
Cohen, also making his indoor season debut, defeated 28 others in the weight throw with a heave of 14.67 meters. He reached the distance on his sixth attempt after beginning the day with a 13.39 on his first try. Utica's Antwan Kelly was second with a maximum effort of 14.48.
RPI also had a runner-up on Saturday as
Owen Szabo was second in the 5000 meter run with a time of 15:29.02. In fact, the Engineers boasted three of the top four finishers and five of the top eight in the event.
Patrick Smyth (15:29.23) and
Dan Stevens (15:29.25) were third and fourth, respectively.
Rensselaer returns to competition next Saturday when it travels to Middlebury for a meet.
