Cortland Sports Information Department
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Cortland senior Amarian Hughes (Newburgh/Marlboro) earned first-team All-America honors with a sixth-place finish in the triple jump during the final day of competition at the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The three-day meet was held Thursday through Saturday at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium in Myrtle Beach.
Hughes finished sixth with a distance of 14.82 meters (48' 7.5") to notch All-America honors for the second time this year. He was an indoor All-American in the event with a seventh-place finish in March. Hughes improved considerably from his 18th-place finish in the triple jump at last year's outdoor nationals.
In the opening round of three attempts, Hughes posted a distance of 14.64 meters (48' 7.5") on his first try. That distance ranked eighth in the field of 22 competitors and earned him a spot in the nine-competitor finals, with each of those nine athletes receiving three more attempts. After a lightning delay, Hughes returned and on his second finals attempt (fifth overall) he covered the 14.82 meters that moved him into sixth place. Cole Goodman from the University of Rochester won the national title at 15.76 meters (51' 8.5").
Also on Saturday, graduate student Mitchell Makowski (Webster/Webster Thomas), making his first NCAA appearance, finished 17th of 22 competitors in the hammer throw with a toss of 56.39 meters (185' 0"). He narrowly missed second-team All-America honors; the top eight finishers are first-team honorees and spots 9-16 are recognized as second teamers by the USTFCCCA.
Makowski, who entered seeded 18th, was a little more than two feet shy of the 16th-place finisher. He improved his distance on each of his three attempts, progressing from 51.95 meters to 56.17 meters to 56.39 meters. Justin Eichler of Wisconsin-Platteville won the title at 64.11 meters (210' 4").
Cortland tied for 63rd place out of 131 schools in the final team scoring with three points as a result of Hughes' sixth-place triple jump.
Coach's Corner - Comments from Cortland Head Coach Steve Patrick:
The day was filled with a measure of chaos as we dealt with two different delays for lightning! SUNY Cortland long and triple jump coach, Dev Williams, had the following to share regarding Amarian Hughes's finish:
"Amarian showed incredible focus given the circumstances with the weather delay. We weren't happy with how he was sitting after the preliminary rounds, but the minor adjustments we made from the trials to finals certainly paid off! While I only coached him for his final year it was a pleasure watching him practice and perform and wish him the best in the future endeavors." - Dev Williams
Obviously Amarian's 6th-place finish is incredibly exciting, and we're proud of how he has finished off his career and the mark he has left on the program! Mitch Makowski put in a solid performance today in the hammer throw to beat his seed, which has been kind of our theme for the week. Mitch improved his distance on each of his throws – which is what we ask – and was technically solid and under control, doing better on each throw.
This meet featured every one of our entrants either matching or beating their seed coming into the meet. When you consider the pressure that accompanies the athletes with this meet, it was a really strong performance for the Red Dragons.
With the season closed, we thank and say goodbye to those who are moving on to the next phase of their lives!
Isaiah Brunache Places 20th in Shot Put at NCAA Championships
Cortland sophomore Isaiah Brunache (Bennington, VT/Mount Anthony Union) finished in 20th place out of 22 competitors in the shot put with a distance of 15.63 meters (51' 3.5") during the second day of competition at the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The three-day meet is being held at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium in Myrtle Beach.
Brunache, last year's national runner-up, recorded his 15.63-meter distance on his second attempt but fouled on his first and third tries. He finished nine inches shy of a 16th-place finish, which would have garnered second-team All-America honors. Joseph White of Carthage won the national title at 18.69 meters (61' 4").
Cortland concludes action Saturday as senior Amarian Hughes (Newburgh/Marlboro) will compete in the triple jump at 1 p.m. and graduate student Mitchell Makowski (Webster/Webster Thomas) will compete in the hammer throw at 3:45 p.m.
Coach's Corner - Comments from Cortland Head Coach Steve Patrick:
This was a relatively slow day for us on the schedule, with 'only' Isaiah competing. It was understandably a challenging day for him, but he did finish at the same ranking he came in at, which is a nice takeaway.
One thing that is hard for folks on the outside to recognize is that it's tough returning to the meet after being the runner-up last year! There's a lot of unspoken pressure, and the thought about placing high is a very challenging one to keep out of your head. Isaiah does a great job of not focusing on that both during the year and at the meet, but it's still there, almost like background noise that is hard to filter out.
And ultimately, that's OK, as this was a tremendous learning opportunity for Isaiah! And considering how bright he is, I'm very confident that the lesson will ultimately lead to more positives! Considering the length of time Isaiah was out with the injury he sustained at the indoor championships, getting back to this meet in not one but two events (discus on Thursday) is quite an accomplishment!
It's sad to think that the season closes out tomorrow, but we're excited to be representing the Red Dragons in both the hammer throw and the triple jump tomorrow!
