Duke Invitational
Boston University, Albany and UMBC track and field athletes were among 2,200 competitors at the Duke Invitational. Leading the America East men’s competitors was Albany’s Brandon Howlett (New Haven, Conn./Hillhouse), who placed first in the discus with an NCAA Regional-qualifying toss of 174’. Great Dane Trista Neinast (Succasunna, N.J./Roxbury) led the women’s competitors as she grabbed a second-place finish and posted an ECAC-qualifying time in the 10,000-meter run (37:10.13).
Top finishers for Boston University included Jessica Iannacci (Lunenberg, Mass./Lunenberg) on the women’s side as she placed fifth in the 3,000 (9:54.67), along with Phil Putis (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) and Jochen Dieckfoss (Tuebingen, Germany/Geschwister-Scholl-Schule), who won the developmental 1,500 ( 3:55.87) and placed third in the 5,000 (14:17.16), respectively, for the men. Leading the UMBC men was Adam Grossman (Baltimore, Md./Pikesville) as he took 16th in the 100 (10.84) while the women’s 4x400 relay team (3:46.84) boasted a fourth-place finish.
Around the Conference
The Maine men’s track and field team defeated conference foe New Hampshire, 104-97, while the Wildcat women downed the Black Bears, 106-87, in a dual meet held in Orono, Maine. Meet highlights included Wildcat Lauren Knight’s (Centerville, Mass./Centerville) win in the shot put (42’ 2.75”), breaking her own school record, along with Travis Parker (Fairfax, Va./James Robinson), who placed first in the 100 (11.40) and 200 (22.68) to lead the New Hampshire men. Black Bear Claire Poliquin (N. Vancouver, B.C./Handsworth) won the high jump (5’ 6”) for the Maine women, while Troy Irvine’s (Waterville, Maine/Waterville) 15’ pole vault grabbed first-place points for the Black Bear men.
Albany competitors were also in action at the Texas Relays. Joy Williams (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) set the school record in the women’s shot put with an ECAC-qualifying throw of 45’ 3.5” and Eric Opuana’s (Kaduna, Nigeria/Army Day Secondary School) hammer throw of 183’ 7” qualifies him for the NCAA Regionals. The men’s 4x400 relay team legged out an IC4A-qualifying time of 3:16.63, while the women’s 4x800-meter relay team clocked an ECAC-qualifying time of 9:13.05.
At the Binghamton Invitational, Gabe Fletcher (Binghamton, N.Y./Windsor) captured first in the shot put (47’ 7.75”), discus (143’ 7”) and hammer throw (167’ 8”) for the Bearcat men, while Erica Angell (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Spackenkill) highlighted the women’s 10,000 as she set a new school mark and also reached the ECAC qualifying standard with a time of 36:53.08.
The University of Hartford men’s and women’s track teams competed at the Trinity Bantam Invitational on Saturday. Anike Orimogunje (Orange, N.J./Queen of Peace) and Chris Spivey (Hyde Park, Mass./Concord-Carlisle) each captured a pair of first place finishes. Orimogunje won the women’s 100 (12.65) and 200 (25.64), while Spivey was also tops in the men’s 100 (10.87) and 200 (22.37).
Also in action were Northeastern, Stony Brook and the Vermont women. Northeastern was at the South Florida Invitational where Derek Anderson (Wrentham, Mass./Xavarian Brothers) won the shot put (53’ 11”) and took second in the discus (176’ 10”) to lead the men, while the Huskies 4x400 relay team (3:51.91) took second to lead the Northeastern women. Stony Brook’s Brian Farrell (Wicklow, Ireland/Abbey Community College) won the 5,000 (15:05.09) and Leonora Joy (Auckland, New Zealand/Auckland U. of Tech.) finished first and set a new school mark in the 3,000 steeplechase (11:05.50) to lead Stony Brook at the Southern Connecticut State Invitational. The Vermont women round out the week’s track and field competition as they finished third at the University of Connecticut Invitational. Leading the Catamounts was Tee Gingras (Barre, Vt./Spaulding), who garnered first-place accolades in the 800 (2:17.38).