CAMBRIDGE, Mass.- University at Albany’s Joe Greene (Rochester, N.Y./Edison Tech) and Stony Brook University’s Lucy Van Dalen (Wanganui/New Zealand) earned this week’s America East male and female track performers of the week while Albany’s Jenn Gurrant (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) and Binghamton University’s Joanel Lopez garnered the awards for field performers.
Greene, a senior, placed first in a field of 61 competitors by clocking in at 1:03.64 in the 500-meter dash on Friday at the New York City Gotham Cup. The time was enough to qualify the sprinter for the IC4A-Championship, his second event in which he has qualified in as many meets. Green also ran the anchor leg of the 4x400-meter relay team that placed third among 25 squads.
Van Dalen, a sophomore, finished the 3,000-meter run in 9:26.68, smashing the previous school record by more than 12 seconds at the New York City Gotham Cup on Friday. Her time, which was good enough for a first-place finish in the event, provisionally qualified the distance runner for the NCAA Championships and guaranteed her a spot in the ECAC Championship.
Gurrant, a senior, broke her school’s record in the long jump at the New York City Gotham Cup on Friday by an inch and a half. Her jump of 19-3 1/2 feet in the long jump placed her third among 31 competitors and qualified her for the ECAC Championship.
Lopez, a senior, won the shot put and the weight throw events at the West Point Quad meet on Saturday, increasing his individual victory total to three in two meets this season. Lopez posted a distance of 51-8 1/4 feet in the shot put and recorded an impressive 56-1 1/4 feet in the weight throw.
Albany- The Great Danes competed at the New York City Gotham Cup on Friday, January 16 where eight individuals and two relay teams qualified for the IC4A and ECAC Championships. Highlighting the men’s performers was senior Joe Greene who placed first among 61 competitors in the 500-meter dash with a time of 1:03.64. Junior Luke Schoen continued his early success this season, breaking Albany’s school record in the long jump for the second time in as many meets this season. Schoen cleared 17-6.75 adding eight inches to the record he set in 2008. For the women, Kamilah McShine recorded a time of 8.65 seconds in the 60-meter high hurdles which was good enough for second place. Jenn Gurrant broke the school record in the long jump en route to an ECAC qualifying leap of 19-3 1/2 which was good enough for third among 31 competitors.
Binghamton- The Bearcats traveled to West Point, N.Y. this weekend to compete in the West Point Quad meet on Saturday, where the men finished second of three teams and the women third. The men’s squad found success in the field events, with senior Joanel Lopez earning first in the shot put (56-1/4) and the weight throw (51-1/4) events and freshmen teammates Eric Van Aerman and Nelson Hall placing first in the pole vault and high jump, respectively. For the women, junior Caitlyn Wright ran for a second-place finish in the 800 with a time of 2:19.22 while senior Carly Gross earned second in the pole vault (3.2m).
Boston U.- The Terrier women hosted a sweep of regional rivals Boston College (69-52), Massachusetts (77-58) and Sacred Heart (72-63) this week, and were highlighted by the performance of freshman Shelby Walton. Walton won the 55-meter dash with an ECAC-qualifying time of 7:14 in a 13-runner field and would go on to top the 22-runner field in 200-meter finishing in 25.18. For the men, senior David Proctor’s time of 2:23.63 placed him nearly ten seconds ahead of his second-place competitor in the 1,000-meter run. Dan Withrow, a senior, swept the throwing events posting a 50-11 feet throw in the shot put and a 47-6 1/4 score in the weight throw. Despite winning eight events, the men fell to Sacred Heart, 87-47, in their dual meet.
Hartford- The Hawks did not compete this week, but will return to action on January 30, at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games.
Maine- The Black Bears crossed the border on Saturday as they traveled to Sherbrooke University in Quebec to compete in the Green and Gold Invitational. Several freshmen posted strong performances for the men’s squad including Riley Masters, who won the 3,000-meter run in a time of 8:31.68, and classmate Donald Clark, who threw for first in the shot put with a distance of 44-9 feet. The men would earn the top three spots in the 3,000-meter run, with Christopher Harmon and David Currier following Masters, respectively. Senior Vicki Tolton picked up the lone victory for the women, winning the 300-meter with a time of 39.98. Rebecca Even, a sophomore thrower, broke the University of Maine school record with a 55-foot toss earning third in the event. Despite the Black Bear’s efforts, the men were second to Sherbrooke (164) with 121 points, but ahead of McGill (96) and Laval (76). The women also earned second (152) to Sherbrooke (164), but posted ahead of McGill (121) and Laval (38).
New Hampshire- The Wildcats earned a tri-meet sweep at the newly renovated Paul Sweet Oval on Saturday, where the men’s 112 points easily topped visiting Holy Cross (44) and Quinnipiac (15). Junior William Brehm won the 200-meters in 22.76 seconds and followed it with a first-place finish in the 500-meters (1:09.07). Teammate Brice Paey, a sophomore, set a Wildcat record in the shot put with his first-place throw of 57-10 1/4. The throw was enough to qualify Paey for the IC4A-Championships. Senior Sarah Hall earned two individual victories as the women earned 92 points and topped Holy Cross (73) and Quinnipiac (9). Hall posted first-place times of 7.45 seconds in the 55-meters and 27.13 in the 200-meters. Junior Ashlee Lathrop qualified for the ECAC Championship with a first-place weight throw of 53-9 3/4 feet and placed fourth in the shot put.
UMBC- The Retrievers competed in the Maryland Indoor Invitational on Saturday and saw three individual school records broken. Freshman Imani Colbert continued an impressive freshman campaign, shaving an additional .09 seconds off her own school record in the 60-meter hurdles by posting a first-place time of 8.72. Teammate Britney Foreman, a junior, broke the school’s 60-meter dash record for the third straight meet, finishing in 7.66 seconds, enough for second. For the men, sophomore transfer Victor Gilreath’s triple jump mark of 48-10 3/4 broke the school’s 2003 record by one and a half feet.
Stony Brook- The Seawolves’ continued their reign in the distance events at the New York City Gotham Cup on Friday. Sophomore Lucy Van Dalen provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships with a first-place time of 9:26.68 in the 3,000-meter run. Her finish shattered the previous school record in the event by more than 12 seconds. Daire Bermingham, a junior, ran an IC4A Championship-qualifying time of 8:21.99 in the men’s 3,000-meter run, earning third in the event.
Vermont- The Catamount’s junior multi-event athlete Jared Alvord broke his own school record at the URI Heptathlon Meet on Friday. Alvord finished third at the meet, earning 4,234 points, 17 more than his 2008 record. The entire track and field team will return to action on Friday, January 23 when they host McGill and Middlebury in a tri-meet.