Nick Lyndaker had two first place finishes as the St. Lawrence University men's track and field team finished third overall at the Utica Winter Opener Friday afternoon.

Lyndaker, a Canton, N.Y. native, had the best result of the day for the Saints in his trademark distance race, the mile. He crossed the line in first place with a time of 4:16.98, two seconds better than his nearest competitor in what was a tightly contested distance race. The top six finishers were all in the same heat, each with times within five seconds of each other
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Lyndaker also took first place in the men's 800 meter race, taking top spot by two seconds with a time of 1:58.10.

While the Saints found success in the distance race, they almost struck gold in a sprint as well. Caleb Young was just a second behind the event winner in the 400 meter, checking in with a second place finish and a time of 52.01, narrowly edged by Utica's Nolan Flynn for the top spot. John Mahoney of the Saints also finished fourth.

Patrick Russell and Matthew Taylor paced each other in the 5000 meter race, with Russell crossing the finish line at 15:48.56 for a fifth place result, while Taylor followed right behind him in sixth place. He was five seconds behind at 15:53.03.

In the field, the Saints got a third place finish from Zachary Jaworski in the weight throw. His first attempt of the meet gave him a lead in the event, with a distance of 14.77. That stood until the event's third round, when he was passed by Utica's Justin Swavely. Swavely's teammate Antwan Kelly ultimately won the event.

August Zock and Michael Smigen placed third and fourth respectively in the high jump as well, with each of them finishing at 1.77, tied with Jayden Tsoi of Oneonta for that third spot.

The Saints now head to Vermont next Saturday for a meet at Middlebury College on Jan. 20 before heading home for their own invitational the following weekend.