Red Dragons to play host to SUNYAC track finals

The SUNY Athletic Conference track and field championships highlight the home schedule for Oneonta State this weekend. Preliminary events run from 2-6 p.m. today with finals to follow from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Senior Ashlee Robertson, junior Musu Jackson-Buckner and sophomore Maureen Verdier are favored to repeat as individual conference champions in their respective events.

Robertson is the defending 400-meter champion and enters this weekend with the fastest time in the conference by nearly two seconds. Robertson, who won the indoor conference title in the 400 in February, has also qualified in the 100 and 200, and will serve as O-State’s anchor in the 400 and 1,600 relays.

Jackson-Buckner won the 200 for New Paltz last spring and has the best finishes in the 100 and the 200 among conference runners this se[an error occurred while processing this directive]ason. Jackson-Buckner, who has NCAA provisional qualifying times in each event, also will run for the 400 and 1,600 relays.

Defending 400 hurdles champ Verdier has qualified in the 100 and 400 hurdles this spring and has the SUNYAC’s third-fastest time in each event.

Seniors Tom O’Neill and Shaun Hurley, and sophomore Ryan Wells will lead Oneonta’s men.

O’Neill is at the top of the performance list in the 100, 200 and 400. He’ll likely compete in two of those finals and is expected to compete in the 400 or 1,600 relay.

Hurley, a four-time indoor SUNYAC champion, seeks his first conference outdoor title this weekend. He’s ranked first in the long and triple jumps and is second in the high jump.

Wells has qualified in the 800, 1,500 and mile events. He’ll compete in the 800 and 3,000-meter steeplechase this weekend.

Both teams placed third at the conference indoor championships earlier this year. O-State’s women placed fifth and its men finished sixth at last spring’s outdoor finals in Cortland.

Men’s Lacrosse

Geneseo at O-State
Oneonta takes a three-game winning streak into a SUNYAC season finale against Geneseo at 5 p.m. Saturday. The winner will earn the No. 2 seed and a home semifinal in the SUNYAC Tournament on Wednesday.

The Red Dragons (8-6) are 3-2 in conference and Geneseo is 4-1 in the SUNYAC. Should Oneonta win, it will take the No. 2 seed by virtue of the conference’s head-to-head tiebreaker.

Chad Wagoner leads O-State with 27 goals and 27 assists for 54 points.

Women’s Lacrosse

Potsdam at O-State
Oneonta (2-10, 2-4) plays its final home game of the season at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Red Dragons, 14-10 losers to Rensselaer on Thursday, can still make the conference tournament by winning their last two SUNYAC games, but only if Brockport loses its last two. Brockport, which beat Oneonta earlier this spring, holds the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Sophomore Erin Maybeck leads O-State with 34 points (31 goals, three assists).

Baseball

O-State at Utica
Oneonta plays a non-conference double-header at Utica starting at noon Saturday.

The Red Dragons (26-7-1) moved up four spots to No. 15 in the latest ABCA Division III poll and are ranked second in the New York region. They’re also seeded second for next weekend’s SUNYAC Tournament at Cortland.

Oneonta is batting .311 as a team, led by sophomore Chris Salamida’s .412 average. Salamida leads the team every offensive category, including runs (31), hits (47), home runs (5), RBIs (28), total bases (76) and slugging percentage (.667). He also is 15-for-15 in stolen bases.

Additionally, Salamida leads the pitching staff with a 5-1 record and a 0.96 ERA. He is second on the team with 46 strikeouts and has held opponents to a .151 batting average.

Softball

O-State at SUNYIT
Oneonta plays its final SUNYAC double-header of the season on the road at 3 p.m. today. The defending conference champion Red Dragons already clinched the third seed in next weekend’s SUNYAC Tournament.

Junior Michelle Norwich leads the team with 34 hits and a .386 average. Classmate Erica Gifford has a team-best three home runs and 19 RBIs. The two are tied for the team lead in total bases (42) and slugging percentage (.477).

Junior pitcher Amy Herba fell to 11-6 after taking both losses Thursday against Geneseo.