CAMBRIDGE, Mass.- After a week that saw records around the conference fall, Binghamton University’s Erik van Ingen (Cortland, N.Y./Marathon) and University of Hartford’s Elizabeth Foster (Ellinton, Conn./Ellington) earn this week’s male and female Track Performer of the Week awards, while UMBC’s Victor Gilreath (Catonsville, Md./Western Tech/Maryland) and Boston University’s Tahari James (Branford, Conn./Branford) earn the male and female weekly Field Performer accolades.
Van Ingen, a sophomore, qualified for the NCAA Regional meet with his time in the 1,500-meter run. His time of 3:47.45 eclipsed the qualifying standard by .35 seconds and earned him second-place in the race.
Foster finished the 3000-meter steeplechase at the University of Massachusetts Invitational in 10:49.63. The senior’s time placed her just a second behind the first-place finisher, but was enough to qualify her for the NCAA Championship and shatter her previous school record by more than 20 seconds. Foster’s bid to the postseason championship marks the first time any Hartford track and field member will compete at the NCAA’s.
Gilreath, a sophomore, won two events at the Virginia Invitational on Saturday with a mark of 2.00 meters in the high jump and an IC4A-qualifying leap of 14.71 meters in the triple jump.
James won the long jump and the triple jump events for the second straight week at the Spec Towns National Team Invitational this weekend, posting a mark of 6.27 meters in the long jump and a season-best 13.15 meters in the triple jump. Both marks were NCAA Regional-qualifying, and James went on to anchor the winning 4x100-meter relay team and qualified for the ECAC Championships with a third-place finish in the 200-meter dash (24.73).
Albany- The Great Danes did not compete this week, but will return to action next weekend at Princeton’s Larry Ellis Invitational and at the prestigious UTTECH Track and Field Classic at National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. Among the elite competitors at the international meet will be Jamaica’s own Shelly-Ann Fraser, the 2008 Olympic gold medalist in the 100-meter dash at Beijing, and Asafa Powell, the previous world record holder in the men’s 100-meter dash and 2008 gold medalist in the 4x100-meter relay.
Binghamton- Binghamton competed in the non-team scoring Bison Outdoor Classic at Bucknell University over the weekend. Erik van Ingen, the America East Male Performer of the Week, recorded the Bearcats’ top performance placing second in the 1,500-meter run with an IC4A qualifying time of 3:47.45, just .16 seconds off the winning pace. Sara Veith posted the top effort on the women’s side, finishing 12th in the 1,500 in a time of 4:53.93. The Bearcats will return to Lewiston for the Bucknell Team Challenge on Saturday.
Boston- The Terriers sent student athletes to the Spec Towns National Team Invitational in Athens, Ga. and the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, Ariz. last week. At the Spec Towns Invitational senior Tahari James won the long jump and the triple jump alongside classmate Becky Marshburn, who won the 400-meter hurdles (1:00.38), finished second in the 100-meter hurdles (14.45) and was part of the 4x400-meter relay team that finished third (3:53.95). For the men, rookie Tewado Latty qualified for the IC4A Championship with a fourth-place time of 48.04 in the 400-meter dash. Dan Withrow, a sophomore, finished 11th in both the shot put (15.51m) and discus throw (47.40m).
Boston's Story
Hartford- The Hawks traveled to Amherst to compete at the University of Massachusetts Spring Meet on Saturday, where senior Elizabeth Foster became the first Hartford Hawk to ever qualify for NCAA post-season competition. Foster recorded a time of 10:49.63 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase event, earning second-place and lowering her previous school record by more than 20 seconds. Freshman Anderson Emerole saw two Top 10 performances, finishing fourth in the 200-meter dash (23.25) and sixth in the 400-meter run (50.79).
Hartford's Story
Maine- The Black Bears competed at the University of Massachusetts Spring Meet where the women’s squad saw a first-place finish, and the men finished fourth. Jesse Labreck led the women’s squad, winning the triple jump with a distance of 38 feet, 3.25 inches and leading the field in the 100-meter hurdles (14.820). Vicki Tolton, a senior, set the school record in the 400-meter dash with a first-place time of 54.10, while teammate Wllyson Howatt earned a pair of victories in the 100- (12.53) and 200-meter dash (25.36). For the men, Riley Masters set the facility record at UMass with a time of 3:54.04 in the 1,500-meter run.
Maine's Story
UMBC- UMBC traveled to the University of Virginia Invitational on Saturday where freshman Imani Colbert continued her dominant rookie campaign. Colbert snapped the school’s record in the 100-meter hurdles with an ECAC-qualifying time of 14.28. Sophomore Victor Gilreath won two individual events for the men, taking the triple jump in an IC4A-qualifying leap of 14.71m and the high jump with a mark of 2.00m.
UMBC's Story
New Hampshire- As the host of the Wildcat Invitational II, the Wildcats competed in a non-scoring dual meet and saw several top finishes. Seniors Spencer Shaw and Reed Liset each earned a pair of first-place finishes for the men. Shaw was first in the long jump (7.26m) and the 100-meter dash (11.40) while Liset topped the discus (46.88m) and the hammer throw (54.80). Tayla Ryan was the sole multi-event winner for the women, finishing first in the 100- and 400-meter hurdles with times of 16.12 and 1:8.12, respectively.
New Hampshire's Story
Stony Brook- The Seawolves competed at the Quinnipiac Classic this weekend, where sophomore twins Holly and Lucy Van Dalen each set school records en route to first place finishes in the 3,000- and 800-meter runs, respectively. Lucy’s time of 2:10.96 shaved nearly two seconds off the previous record set in 1985, while Holly finished almost a full minute ahead of her nearest competitor in a time of 9:38.09, nearly two seconds faster than the previous record. For the men, junior Tim Hodge won the 3,000-meter run in a time of 8:34.04.
Stony Brook's Story
Vermont- The Catamounts competed at the Bison Invitational at Bucknell and the Panther Invitational at Middlebury this weekend. Junior Aaron Campbell led the men’s squad with a time of 10.38 in the 100-meter dash, breaking his own school record by three tenths of a second while setting a facility record at Bucknell. Rookies Chris Thomas and Elyse Ogletree each earned top-finishes, Thomas earning a pair in the high jump (1.98m) and triple jump (14.16m) at the Panther Invitational while Ogletree earned her second first-place finish of the year in the javelin at Bucknell.
Vermont's Story