The UConn Invitational
The University at Albany men’s and women’s track and field teams along with the women’s squad from Boston University, competed at the UConn Invitational last Saturday in Storrs, Conn.
Albany’s Eric Opuana (Kaduna, Nigeria/Army Day Secondary), Brandon Howlett (New Haven, Conn./Hillhouse) and Teresa Covert (Susquehanna, Pa./Susquehanna) each grabbed first-place points and broke school records for the Great Danes. Opuana’s IC4A-qualifying toss of 191’ 5” in the hammer throw and Howlett’s throw of 177’ 3” in the discus grabbed them top honors and places in the Albany record book. Covert broke her own school mark in the long jump with an NCAA Regional-qualifying jump of 19’ 5.5” and also won the 100 hurdles (13.99) to lead the Great Dane women.
Dina Mijuskovic (Podstrana, Croatia/Vladimir Nazor) won the 5,000 (18:04.57), grabbing first-place points for Boston University. Erica Shea (Georgetown, Mass./Ipswich) was the Terriers other top finisher as she placed fourth in the 800 (2:16.26).
The Solomon Husky Invitational
The Northeastern University men’s and women’s track and field teams and the Boston University men’s team competed at the Solomon Husky Invitational in Dedham, Mass.
The Northeastern women claimed nine top spots in the meet, highlighted by Ahndraea Allen (Roselle Park, N.J./Roselle Park) who grabbed gold medals in both the 100 (12.01) and 200 (24.23). Idris Payne (New York, N.Y./Fordham Prep) and Derek Anderson (Wrentham, Mass./Xavarian Brothers) each had great days for the Northeastern men. Payne won the 400 (47.21) and anchored the winning 4x400 relay team (3:18.03) and Anderson won the discus (171’ 8”) and was second in the shot put (53’ 1.75”).
Leading the Terriers was Peter Maitland (Cohasset, Mass./Cohasset) with a second-place showing in the javelin (177’ 2”) and Jeff McAulay (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) who placed fourth in the triple jump (40’ 11.5”).
The Crusader Invitational
Men’s and women’s track and field teams from the University of Hartford and University of Maine, along with the women’s team from the University of Vermont competed last Saturday at the Crusader Invitational at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.
Leading the Black Bear women was Katie Page (Palmyra, Maine/Nokomis Regional) who won the javelin (128’) and discus (144’ 10”), along with Kathryn Souviney (East Vassalboro, Maine/Winslow) who finished first in the 100 hurdles (15.34) and took second in the 400 hurdles (1:05.38). Andre Dubois (Lewiston, Maine/Lewiston) won the discus (146’) and shot put (45’ 11.75”) to lead the Maine men. For Hartford, Anike Orimogunje (Orange, N.J./Queen of Peace) grabbed wins in both the women’s 100 (12.26) and 200 (24.98), while Chris Spivey (Hyde Park, Mass./Concord-Carlisle) also won the 100 (10.99) and 200 (22.03) for the men. Tee Gingras (Barre, Vt./Spaulding) led Vermont with a first-place finish in the 1,500 (4:36.92), while teammate Michele Palmer (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth South) garnered top honors in the 5,000 (17:55.77).
Around the Conference
At the Buffalo Open, Binghamton University received quality performances from Rory Quiller (West Point, N.Y./James I. Oneill) who won the men’s pole vault (15’ 5.5”) and took second in the 110 hurdles (15.19), and Stacey Kramer (Loudonville, N.Y./Colonie) who led the women with a first-place finish in the 1,500 (4:48.85).
Boston University athletes were also in action at the Pomona-Pitzer and Mt. SAC Invitationals. Mary Ellen Bingham (Boston, Mass./Boston Latin) claimed top honors in the triple jump (38’ 8.25”) at the Pomona Invitational and Victoria Lopez (Queens, N.Y.) finished ninth overall in the 400 (1:04.03). Dan Coval (Newton, Pa./Council Rock) led the Terrier men to a fifth-place finish in the 5,000 (14:11.18) at Mt. SAC and Matt Adler (Scottsdale, Ariz./Chaparra) grabbed a 12th-place finish in the 200 (21.82) at Ponoma.
At the Eric Kloiber Metro Invitational held at Mount St. Mary’s College, UMBC’s Cara Wettlaufer (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) won the 1,500 (4:44.71), while Yasmin Fields (Washington, D.C./Ballou) was the top collegiate finisher in the 800 (2:15.06) for the Retriever women. For the men, Adam Grossman (Baltimore, Md./Pikesville) grabbed top honors in the 100 (10.91), teammate Khris Hutson (Hyattsville, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) took first in the 400 (49.32) and the 4x400 relay team captured the top spot (3:17.31).
The University of New Hampshire women’s track and field team captured first-place honors at the UNH Wildcat Invitational II. The Wildcat women posted eight first-place finishes, highlighted by Megan Hepp (Milton, Vt./Milton) who finished first in the 3,000 steeplechase (11:05.64) and Kristen Meisner (Nashua, N.H./Nashua) as she finished first in the 800 (2:14.88).
In the men’s events, a slew of freshmen led the Wildcats to a second-place finish. Freshmen Travis Parker (Fairfax, Va./James Robinson), Erik Travis (Durham, N.H./Oyster River), Brandon Williams (Hooksett, N.H./Hooksett) and David Ball (Orange, Vt./Worcester Academy) each posted first-place finishes, winning the 400 (49.59), 800 (1:56.51), 1,500 (3:53.83) and high jump (6’ 7”) respectively.
New Hampshire athletes also competed at the Crusades Heptathlon hosted by College of the Holy Cross. Craig Lange (Manchester, N.H./Manchester Central) came away with top honors in the men’s decathlon after chalking up 6,201 points. Lauren Knight (Centerville, Mass./Centerville) captured second place (4,539) in the women’s field.
Chris Hunt (St. Albans, N.Y./Thomas Edison) led the Stony Brook men as he sported a first-place finish in the 800 (1:54.95) at the Metropolitan Championships. The Seawolves other first-place finish was claimed by the men’s distance medley relay team (10:19.80). On the women's side, Jackie Nunez (Mt. Sinai, N.Y./Mt. Sinai/Suffolk CC) led the way with a second-place showing in the 1,500 (4:35.70) while the distance medley relay team (12:04.97) grabbed second-place honors.