NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships - Day 1
Cortland, Fredonia, Oneonta and Plattsburgh Sports Information
Cortland's Isaiah Brunache and Evan Collette First-Team All-Americans in Weight Throw at NCAA Championships
Brunache finished in fifth place out of 20 competitors with a throw of 18.82 meters (61' 9"). He was actually tied with Bryce Hale of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for the fifth-best throw, but he officially finished fifth based on having the better second-longest throw (18.78 meters compared to 18.72 meters).
Brunache posted the 18.82-meter effort on his first attempt of the day. He moved into the nine-athlete finals in sixth place but shifted into fifth with his tiebreaking 18.78-meter toss on his first of three finals attempts.
Brunache earned his fifth All-America honor - three indoors and two outdoors. He finished seventh in the weight throw and eighth in the shot put at last year's indoor nationals, and he was the outdoor national runner-up in the shot put in both 2023 and 2025.
Collette entered nationals as the 18th seed out of 20 competitors before surging to his seventh-place finish. Competing in the first of two flights, he registered a throw of 18.57 meters on his second attempt, and he improved to 18.69 meters (61' 4") on his third toss. After the second flight finished, Collette was in seventh place overall to earn one of the nine finals spots and three more attempts. He did not improve his distance in the finals, but he was still able to hold on to the seventh-place slot.
Collette is an All-American for the first time. He competed in the hammer throw at last year's outdoor nationals but did not place.
The top eight finishers earn first-team All-America honors, while spots 9-16 are second-team All-Americans.
Gavin Fritsch of Wisconsin-Oshkosh won the national title with a distance of 20.78 meters (68' 2.25"), which he achieved on his first attempt.
On Saturday, Brunache will compete in the shot put and junior Manuel Sepulveda (East Rochester) will compete in the triple jump, both at 11 a.m. Central (noon Eastern).
Coach's Corner - Comments from Cortland Head Coach Steve Patrick:
Two First Team All-Americans in the same event is something to behold! That's a pretty rare occurrence, and one we're quite proud of. Normally in the field events we like to have a rule that if you throw (or jump) the distance that got you into the meet, you will be on the podium. Today, that wasn't the case – most of the field was performing under their seed. NCAA Championships can be like that – some years people are launching PRs left and right, and some years it is a bit tighter. A huge amount of credit to Isaiah for staying mentally focused in the competition and battling to move up to 5th in the finals (and to earn his 5th career All-American honor), and for Evan for the massive jump on his seed (from 18th to finishing 7th) with the second-best throw of his career!
Tomorrow we get the return of Isaiah in the shot put, along with Manuel Sepulveda on the runway for Triple Jump.
Cortland's Melissa Innocent Finishes 18th in Mile Run at NCAA Indoor Championships
Innocent finished 10th in the first of two heats in the opening round with a time of 5:00.83. The top four finishers from each heat, plus the next fastest two times, advanced to Saturday's finals. Innocent's time was faster than two of the runners in the second 10-runner heat.
Innocent opened up in seventh place after the first lap and moved to fifth after three laps. She was in sixth place five laps into the race before dropping off to ninth after six laps and 10th after seven. Elena Stanciu of UC Santa Cruz won the heat in 4:51.17, with the top five runners crossing the line within seven tenths of a second of each other. Mackenzie Setton of Johns Hopkins won the second heat in 4:49.60.
Innocent was making her first NCAA track and field appearance, and was Cortland's lone women's competitor at the meet. She has been an NCAA Division III cross country qualifier and the SUNYAC women's cross country champion each of the last two years.
Coach's Corner - Comments from Cortland Head Coach Steve Patrick:
Competing against the top jumpers in the country, Sample entered the national meet with a season-best mark of 7.66 meters, which he recorded while winning the SUNYAC title on Feb. 27. He also came into the championship ranked second in all of Division III in the event.
Sample finished the day with a 10th place finish with a jump of 6.94 meters closing out his indoor season. Wisconsin-Oshkosh senior Joshua Rivers won the event with a leap of 7.48 meters. With his 10th place finish, Sample is a Second Team All American.
"Things did not go our way today but that does not erase the amazing record-setting season Cam achieved," said Fredonia State head coach Tom Wilson. "Although the NCAA championship is the biggest spotlight meet of the season, one meet will not define Cam's career and our upcoming outdoor season."
With the indoor season complete, Sample and the Blue Devils will now shift their focus to outdoor competition. Fredonia State opens the outdoor season April 3rd at Geneseo.
Slater took 14th in the field of 16 jumpers at 6.68 meters. He had his best mark on his third attempt and became the first Oneonta long jumper in program history to earn All-American status.
Joshua Rivers from Wisconsin-Oshkosh was the long jump champion with a mark of 7.48 meters.
Plattsburgh's Grace Yarkosky Breaks Program 400-Meter Dash Record, Advances to Finals at NCAA Division III Indoor Championships
Senior Grace Yarkosky (South Lyon, Mich. / South Lyon) shattered her own indoor program record in the 400-meter dash, posting a time of 54.97 seconds in the preliminaries at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
Yarkosky placed fourth, recording the fastest time of her career in the event to advance to the finals. Among schools in the Division III Mideast Region, she was the top performer in the event.
The 400-meter dash finals are scheduled for tomorrow, Mar. 14, at 5:25 p.m.
Plattsburgh's Isaiah Ritter Competes in Long Jump at NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships
Junior Isaiah Ritter (Peekskill, N.Y. / Peekskill) of the Plattsburgh State men's track and field team placed 13th in the long jump at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
Ritter recorded a leap of 6.88 meters, the fifth-best jump of his career. Among competitors from schools in the Division III Mideast Region, he ranked second in the event.
The Plattsburgh State men's track and field team will open its outdoor season on Saturday, Mar. 28, at the UMass Flagship First Meet.
