Courtesy of University at Albany Media Relations
Princeton,
N.J. -- University at Albany’s Joe
Greene won the 400-meter intermediate hurdles for the third time in four years
in leading the men’s track & field team to its first-ever IC4A outdoor
championship on Sunday afternoon at Princeton University’s Weaver Stadium. The
men placed first among 52 scoring teams with 68 points to become the first
school to sweep the IC4A indoor and outdoor team titles in the same year since Rutgers University in 2005.
Jenn Gurrant became the first UAlbany women
to capture an individual ECAC outdoor title when she placed first in the triple
jump at Princeton’s Weaver Stadium. The
UAlbany women were fifth among 58 scoring teams with 39 points to register the
program’s best-ever finish. The Great Danes tied for 24th in last year’s
competition.
In the 133rd Annual IC4A meet, Greene broke his own school record in the
400-meter hurdles by navigating the track in 49.72 seconds, while teammate Alie
Beauvais was second in 49.99. Greene also anchored the 4x400-meter relay
to a second-place finish.
“The wind hit us on the second curve,” Greene
said. “Alie (Beauvais)
and I were tied on the stagger and I caught him at the end of the last
turn. I just wanted to maintain my form over the last two hurdles.
It is a good feeling to go out on top as a senior, winning both the (IC4A)
indoor and outdoor titles. I just want to finish it off with a trip to
nationals.”
The Great Danes, who had never finished higher than fourth in this meet, beat
out Liberty,
the two-time defending IC4A champion. With two relays left, the UAlbany was in
fourth and trailing first-place Liberty
by six points. The Great Danes’ 4x800-meter relay team consisting of Nick
Santos (Colonie Central), John Moore (Fonda-Fultonville), Tyler Fogarty
(Shenendehowa) and Joe Belokopitsky
(Shaker) clinched the title by posting a school-record time of 7:24.97 in
hitting the tape first. Andrew Overbaugh (Catskill), Jeffery Barnes (Albany), Beauvais
and Greene closed out the competition with a second-place performance of
3:09.65 in the 4x400 relay.
Triple jumper Mike McCadney also helped the men win its first IC4A outdoor
crown. McCadney broke his own school standard with a mark of 51-feet,
3-inches in finishing second. Jean Juste, a defensive back on the school’s
football team, was third in the 110-meter high hurdles in 14.18 seconds, while
John Moore (Fonda-Fultonville) ended up sixth in the 1,500-meter run (3:52.88).
UAlbany had never placed in the top 20 at the
ECAC women’s championship, but Kamilah McShine helped her team break through
with a pair of second-place showings. McShine shattered the program
standard in the 400-hurdles, her first year running the event, with a time of
59.13 seconds. The previous record of 59.57 was set by Xiomara Davila Diaz in
1997. McShine also finished second in the 100-meter hurdles, clocking in a
personal-best time of 13.67.
Gurrant, who also won the triple jump at the
ECAC indoor meet, became the first outdoor champion in an individual event by
leaping 41-feet, 9.25-inches on her last attempt. The mark was almost a foot
better than the second-place finisher.
“It was cold and windy, but I knew I could do
it,” Gurrant explained. “I felt no pressure (on my last attempt) and just
wanted to end on a good note. It’s crazy (to finish fifth as a
team). I have never looked at ECACs as a team competition, but that’s
because we have never been up there. This is surprising and the team is
happy.”
Fey Adaramola posted a pair of top-four
finishes in the sprinting events. She was second in the 100-meter dash with a
mark of 12.00 seconds, and followed that up with a fourth-place performance in
the 200m-dash by crossing the line in 24.06.
“Winning (America East) Conference
championships has become routine, so I made winning the IC4As our next goal and
the kids bought into it,” said UAlbany coach Roberto Vives, whose squad will
compete at the NCAA East Regional in two weeks. “Six years ago we were
good and won the conference championship, but the guys would shut down after
that. Now, they know that there’s more that they can do. For us to do this and
the way we did it by coming from behind was unbelievable. They want to be in
the top five at the regional.”
-agate-
Men’s
Final Team Standings (Top 10)
1.
UAlbany 68; 2.
Liberty 56; 3. Rutgers 55; 4. Manhattan
51; 5. Cornell 36; 6. Georgetown
35; 7. Hampton
31; T-8. Syracuse
30; T-8. William & Mary 30; 10. Duke 27.
110-Meter
High Hurdles: 3.
Jean Juste 14.18 (NCAA Regional). 400-Meter Intermediate Hurdles: 1. Joe Greene 49.72 (NCAA Regional, School Record), 2.
Alie Beauvais 49.99 (NCAA Regional). 1,500-Meter Run: 6. John Moore
3:52.28. Triple Jump: 2. Mike McCadney 51-3 (NCAA Regional, School
Record), 10. Valete Graham 48-3.50, 12. Nasim Siddeeq 47-11. 4x100-Meter
Relay: 4. Jean Juste, Joe Greene,
Alie Beauvais, Jeffery Barnes 41.12. 4x400-Meter Relay: 2. Andrew
Overbaugh, Jeffery Barnes, Alie Beauvais, Joe
Greene. 4x800-Meter Relay: 1. Nick Santos, John Moore, Tyler Fogarty, Joe Belokopitsky 7:24.97 (School Record).
Women’s
Final Team Standings (Top 10)
1.
Connecticut
88; 2. Virginia
58, 3. West Virginia
47.25; 4. Duke 41.25; 5. UAlbany 39; 6. Seton Hall 36; 7. Maryland 34; T-8.
Villanova 30; T-8. William & Mary 30; T-10. Cornell 28; T-10. Pittsburgh 28.
Women’s
Results
100-Meter
Dash: 2.
Fey Adaramola 12.00. 200-Meter Dash: 4. Fey Adaramola 24.06. 100-Meter
High Hurdles: 2. Kamilah McShine 13.67 (NCAA Regional). 400-Meter
Intermediate Hurdles: 2. Kamilah McShine 59.13 (NCAA Regional, School
Record). Triple Jump: 1. Jenn Gurrant 41-9.25 (NCAA Regional), 19. Sandy
Antenor 38-3.50. Javelin Throw: 26. Ashley Lewis 115-9. Shot Put: 18.
Ritshell Verdier 41-0.50.