CAMBRIDGE, Mass.- The University at Albany’s Ricardo Estremera (San Juan, P.R./University) and Boston University’s Andrea Walkonen (Jaffrey, N.H./Conant) each qualified for NCAA postseason competition this week, earning themselves the America East male and female Track Performer of the Week, while Albany’s Luke Schoen, another NCAA qualifier, (Bohemia, N.Y./West Islip) and University of Maine’s Rebecca Even (Stoneham, Mass./Fryeburg Academy) earn male and female Track Performer of the Week honors.
Estremera qualified for the NCAA East Regional Championship when he broke a 15-year old school record in the 3,000-meter steeple chase at North Carolina State’s Raleigh Relays. The senior finished second, less than four seconds shy of the first place finisher, with a time of 8:54.12.
Walkonen, an All-American during the cross country and indoor track seasons, automatically qualified for the NCAA Championship in the 10,000-meter run at the Stanford Invitational this weekend. The senior’s time of 33:13.66 placed her first among collegians at the meet, and is the fastest in the nation thus far this season.
Schoen, a senior, qualified for the NCAA East Regional Championship in the pole vault by clearing a high of 17-feet, 0.75 inches at his first outdoor meet of the season. The leap placed him ahead of eight student-athletes from ACC schools at the Raleigh Relays hosted by North Carolina State.
Even won the hammer throw in the Black Bear’s dual meet against UNH, setting the school record for the second-consecutive meet with a distance of 175 feet, two inches. This is Even’s second consecutive weekly accolade of the outdoor season.
Albany- The Great Danes competed at the Raleigh Relays at North Carolina State this week and had five student athletes qualify for postseason competition. Highlighting the men were seniors Ricardo Estremera and Luke Schoen, who each qualified for the NCAA East Regional championship in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the pole vault, respectively. Laura Cummings, a senior, placed fourth among collegians in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, clocking a time of 10:56.20.
Albany's Story
Binghamton- The Bearcats did not compete this week and will head to Princeton to compete in the Sam Howell Invitational on Friday and Saturday this week.
Boston- The Terriers competed at the Tufts Snowflake Classic on Saturday, and saw several athletes qualify for postseason competition. Leading the women to a first-place finish in the 16 team field was junior Whitney Ford, who won the triple jump with a New England-qualifying mark of 11.37m and went on to place third in the 100m dash. Senior Andrea Walkonen, who competed separately at the Stanford Invitational, automatically qualified for the NCAA Championship in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 33:13.66. For the men, senior Jason Nardella out paced a field of 20 in the 110-meter hurdles with a first-place New England-qualifying time of 15.28 while teammate Dan Withrow, a sophomore, qualified for the IC4A championship with his first-place mark of 50.77 meters in the discus throw.
Boston's Story
Hartford- Hartford kicked off its outdoor track and field campaign with six individual titles and four broken school records at the Trinity College Bantam Invitational track on Saturday. Rookie Kristalena Lamore earned first in the women’s long jump (5.2m) and shattered the school’s 2004 record in the triple jump with a leap of 10.75 meters. Senior Anthony Oluwanifise earned second-place finishes in the triple jump and the long jump with marks of 13.9 and 6.41 meters, respectively.
Hartford's StoryMaine- The Black Bears hosted conference rival New Hampshire on Saturday, where the women edged the Wildcats, 100.5-86.5, and the men fell, 67-101. Sophomore Rebecca Even set the school record in the hammer throw for the second consecutive meet, earning a mark of 175 feet, two inches. Teammate Vicki Tolton, a senior, won the 400-meter hurdles with an ECAC-qualifying time of 1:01.72. On the men’s side, rookie Riley Masters broke the 5,000 meter school record with his winning time of 14:34.81.
Maine's Story
UMBC- The Retrievers opened their 2009 outdoor season on Saturday at the Maryland Invitational where the men finished fourth and the women seventh out of 14-team fields. Junior Dominic Devaud won the men’s pole vault with a mark of 4.42 meters while both the men and women’s 4x100-meter relay teams qualified for postseason competition with times of 41.85 and 48.03, respectively.
UMBC's Story
New Hampshire- The Wildcats traveled to conference rival Maine for a dual meet where the men earned a 101-67 win, and the women dropped an 86.5-100.5 decision. Junior William Brehm finished first in the 200- (22.80) and the 100-meter dash (11.42), while teammate Jeff Kaste turned in a trio of top-three finishes earning first in the hammer throw (55.84m), second in the shot put (15.22m) and second in the discus (41.64m). Junior Ashlee Lathrop earned first in the discus throw with a toss of 37.14 meters, and went on to finish second in the hammer throw (47.53m).
New Hampshire's Story
Stony Brook- The Seawolves competed at the Monmouth Invitational on Saturday, earning first place in three separate events. Brandon Leung led the men’s squad with a first-place finish in the 800-meter run (1:59.39). Also crossing first was sophomore Carolina Cortes, who won the women’s 1,500 meter run in a time of 4:48.78, and ran the final leg in the 1,600-meter sprint medley relay (4:16.28).
Stony Brook's Story
Vermont- The University of Vermont men and women each earned sixth-place finishes at the Snowflake Classic hosted by Tufts on Saturday. The men, led by Doug Maisey’s first-place finish in the 5,000-meter run (15:09.46), recorded 68.50 points, while the women collected 58.50 points, and were highlighted by freshman Elyse Ogletree, who qualified for the ECAC Championship with her first-place throw of 40.89 meters.
Vermont's Story