The University at Albany men’s indoor track & field team has been chosen to defend their conference champion title for the fourth consecutive year according to the preseason coaches’ poll. The Great Danes, who have won five of the last six titles, were a unanimous choice by the head coaches, receiving eight first-place votes (coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams) and totaling 64 points. Trailing Albany is New Hampshire, which received one first-place vote and 55 total points. Binghamton, last year’s runner up, was voted in third place with 51 points.
UMBC (39 points) narrowly edged out Boston University (38 points) for the fourth place spot, echoing their finishes from last year’s championship. Rounding out the league, Stony Brook (27 points), Maine (23 points), Vermont (19 points) and Hartford (8 points) were fall chosen to repeat last year’s sixth, seventh, eight and ninth place finishes, respectively.
The Great Danes won last year’s championship by more than 40 points and earned 15 different top three finishes over the weekend. Albany graduated last year’s Most Outstanding Field Performer in David Parker after his conference record setting performance in the heptathalon (5262), but senior Freddie Wills, last year’s second place finisher, will look to take over the event. Junior sprinter Pat Weider returns after being edged out of first-place in the 200 meter dash by .01 seconds
New Hampshire is ranked a seed higher than their third-place finish from a year ago, partially due to the 2008 Most Outstanding Track Performer Robert Edgarton, who won the mile and 1,000-meter events last year and will return to defend his titles. The Wildcats only graduated one from their first-place finishing 4x400 relay team and are returning key freshmen Gabriel Dano and William Brehm.
The loss of All-American pole-vaulter Rory Quiller could be why the Bearcats are ranked a spot below their second-place finish at the 2008 Championship, but with several strong underclassmen, including Quiller’s younger brother freshman Robb Quiller, Binghamton can surpass their ranking. Sophomore Cazal Arnett, last year’s Most Outstanding Rookie, will be a standout for the squad coming off first-place victories in the 200 and 400 meter dashes in last year’s championship. Another strong returner will be sprinter Christian Smith, a sophomore, who won the 500 meter dash in his first league championship as a freshman.
UMBC is ranked fourth after a strong showing at last year’s championship, placing first in the 4x800 relay and second in the distance medley relay. Returning for the Retreivers is junior Adrian Arthur who finished second in the 55-meter dash by .02 seconds. UMBC is ranked a position higher than at the outset of last season.
Boston University has moved the most in the rankings, dropping three spots from last year’s preseason polls. Finishing fifth at last year’s conference meet, the Terriers will rely on strong performances from junior Eric Ashe for distance, sophomore Joel Senick for sprints, and senior Jan Bicanic for throwing to bring them back to the top of the conference.
Stony Brook junior Tim Hodge, the 2008 America East Cross Country Champion, returns to defend his 3,000-meter title. Hodge also ran a leg of last year’s first-place Distance Medley Relay team alongside returning teammates Daire Bermingham, a junior, and Shamell Forbes, a sophomore.
The Black Bears will return junior Jeffrey Ramos, winner of the high jump at the conference championship in 2008, alongside sophomore Skip Edwards who, after earning third in the 400-meter dash, will look to improve upon his time of 48.79 in this year’s competition.
Vermont returns senior Cameron Grant and juniors Aaron Campbell and Justin Scricca. Grant and Campbell had strong showings in the 55 meters last year, with Campbell earning third and Grant following a tenth of a second later in fourth. Scricca ran the 400 in a time of 48.95 last year, breaking his own school record.
Last year, Hartford sophomore Warren Lane broke the school record in the 500 meter dash with his fourth place finish in a time of 1:05.36. As the highest finisher for the Hawks, Lane will be a very valuable returner. The squad also has nine incoming freshmen that will bring fresh legs and a spark to the team this