Puntoriero began the 2013 season in grand fashion with three first place finishes while placing second in another at the
Knox College Invitational on January 12.
Puntoriero set two new school records and nearly added another to win the Prairie Fire Performer of the Week Award.
He was also named the
Midwest Conference Men’s Track Performer of the Week on January 15.
Puntoriero’s name is all over the indoor track and field record books. He entered this season with 18 all-time top 10 performances, including the school record in the 60 meter dash, and the second-fastest time in the 200 meter dash. Puntoriero ended the 2012 season with six of the 10 fastest times in the 200 meters and he helped set new school records in the sprint medley and distance medley relays.p;
Puntoriero won the 60 meter dash preliminaries at the Knox Invitational with a time of :07.21, breaking his own school record of :07.31 that he set last February at the Knox Open. He then won the 60 meter race, setting yet another record when he crossed the finish line in :07.16.
Puntoriero also won the 200 meter dash with his time of :22.88, the second-fastest time in school history in the event, and topped his previous best of :22.90 during the 2012 Midwest Conference Championships at Illinois College. He missed tying Scott McCarty’s 1999 school record of :22.87 in the 200 by a mere one-hundredth of a second.
Puntoriero, who now owns seven of the top 10 fastest times in the 200 meter dash, also placed second in the long jump. His distance of 20’ 3 ½” was just a quarter inch shy of his career-best jump of 20’ 3 ¾” that he set in 2010 and ranks #8 on the all-time individual list.
