ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The TCNJ men's track and field team had a sensational first day of competition at the NCAA Indoor Championships on Friday afternoon, advancing two individuals and their lone relay team into the finals.
 
Ray Schmitt (60-meter dash) and Maxim Rychkov (200-meter dash) each punched their tickets to Saturday's finals, while Rychkov joined Noah Traverso, Anthony Senatore, and Jack Attali to finish fourth in the 4x400-meter relay prelims. All will run for national titles when the indoor championships wrap up on Saturday.
 
Schmitt lowered his own program record by .02 seconds to 6.77, and that made all the difference as the standard-setting time placed him 7^th in prelims - .01 ticks clear of 9^th – and booked his ticket to Saturday's final.
 
Rychkov ran a 6.82 in the 60-meter dash prelims, enough to finish 12^th and secure second team All-America status.
 
The talented rookie made good in the 200, placing 7^th with a time of 21.66 seconds – only .03 off his own program record – to win his heat and book his spot in Saturday's final.
 
Rychkov then returned about an hour later as part of the 4x400-meter relay unit. Traverso (49.04 split), Attali (49.12), and Senatore (49.13) set the table for Rychkov, whose 48.27 split completed the race in 3:15.75. The time was good for fourth in the prelims, easily qualifying the quartet into tomorrow's championship final.