ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell men's track and field will begin it's 2023 outdoor slate this weekend. The Big Red will be competing in two meets. The squad will split for competition at the Auburn Classic and the Penn Classic.

Season Outlook
Men's track and field are looking to build off the momentum of an incredible indoor season where it finished as the number two team in the Northeast region.  The Big Red outscored the indoor Heps projections by 32 points. Princeton and Harvard are fielding good competition, but the Big Red have proven that there is room for them in the top two at the Outdoor Heps.

Coach Adrian Durant has strong expectations for for his squad.  "At least five of our guys have a shot at making it to the NCAA championship in Austin, TX…. We are aiming to win the relay events at the outdoor HEPS championship", he said after getting a good feel for his athletes during the impressive indoor performances. Durant adds, "This weekend we're opening to start working on the outdoor track events.  We still have snow on the ground here so it's good to be able to compete early in the outdoor season at Penn and Auburn and to get outside.  We're still training hard this week to prepare for the championship portion of our season, but regardless we expect some pretty good performances."

The athletes to keep an eye out for throughout the outdoor season will be the scorers, champions, and leaders from the indoor campaign. NCAA second-team All-American sprinter Tomas Kersulis is coming off runner up outdoor season (200- and 400-meter dashes).
 
More Athletes To Watch
Christian Martin - Heps Champion in the 110 hurdles and runner up in the 400m hurdles (2022 outdoor)
Rhys Hammond - Runner up in the mile (2023 indoor), NCAA qualifier in the 1500m (2022 outdoor)
Damian Hackett - Runner up in the 1000-meter run (2023 indoor), Qualified for NCAA First round in the 1500m last year.
Shane Racey - Second in the PV (2023 indoor), Qualified for the NCAA First round (2022 outdoor).
Brad Morell  - Second place in the weight throw (2023 indoor), Third in the shot put (2022 outdoor).
Perry Mackinnon - Third in the 3000-meter run (2023 indoor), Fourth in the 10k (Cross-Country Regionals)
Smith Charles - Has consistently scored in the long-jump and is a former Heps champion.
Jamaur Williamson - He has moved up to being one of the top triple jumpers in the league.
Alex Mocarski, Rishabh Prakash, Jack Daly, Mario Xerri - Has been exceptional in the DMR event.