Men's Track and Field | 12/5/2019 5:46:00 PM

With the 2019-20 indoor season fast approaching, the SUNY Cobleskill men's track & field team prepares for a new chapter in the program's history to begin as interim head coach Alex Macbeth takes over from long-time head coach Brad Fichthorn this year.

On the eve of the new campaign and a year away from the athletic program's move to the North Atlantic Conference (NAC), which will become a new full-time home for the track & field team, the new Fighting Tiger mentor has some definitive objectives for the program.

"This year we need to grow the program in terms of our overall competitiveness and numbers," said Macbeth. "As we look forward, this year we are going to be about laying the foundation for next year's move to the NAC and figuring out how we are going to compete in the league."

Among the returners sophomore multi-event performer junior Tyler Brado, St. Johnsville, N.Y., Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville High School, is a potential nation qualifier in the heptathlon and high jump while sophomore distance/mid-distance Dillon VanDemortel, Newark, N.Y., Newark High School, a First Team All-North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) honoree in Cross Country and sophomore distance/mid-distance runner Nick Merando, Cortlandt Manor, N.Y., Walter Panas High School, a Second Team All-NEAC honoree in Cross Country will be counted on to produce results on the track in the longer events. Junior sprinter Alex Hitchcock, Cobleskill, N.Y., Cobleskill-Richmondville High School, will also be counted on for production in the shorter sprints.

Among the newcomers, sophomore distance/mid-distance runner Jared Craw, Colonie, N.Y., Colonie High School/Hudson Valley Community College, the 2019 NEAC Men's Cross Country Champion has looked good through the early workouts and freshman sprinter Lucas Ferrara, Seneca Falls, N.Y., Mynderse Academy, has also shown potential.

The Fighting Tigers will open the 2019-20 indoor season over the weekend when they travel to Bethlehem, Pa. for the 2019 Fast Times Before Finals Meet hosted by Lehigh University on Friday December 6^th and Saturday December 7^th at the Mountain Hawks Rauch Fieldhouse.