CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Six America East indoor track and field teams opened their seasons last weekend. From those squads, four student-athletes garnered weekly honors for their opening-weekend performances. A pair of sophomores, University of Hartford sprinter Priscilla Appiagyei (South Windsor, Conn./South Windsor) and UMBC thrower Amanda Deller (Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen), earned Female Track Performer of the Week and Field Performer of the Week honors, respectively. On the men’s side, Binghamton University senior Cazal Arnett (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) grabbed the Male Track Performer of the Week nod while University of New Hampshire sophomore Matt Guarente (Saugus, Mass./Saugus) garnered Male Field Performer of the Week accolades.
Appiagyei scored a top finish in the 300-meter dash and helped the Hartford 4x400-meter relay squad to a top finish. The sophomore covered the 300-meter distance in 42.56, bettering her own school-record time of 43.19, set last season. Appiagyei also ran a leg of the 4x400 relay which won by more than three seconds with its time of 4:12.16.
Deller opened her 2010-11 campaign with a win in the weight throw at the Bison Opener with a career-best heave of 16.50 meters. The 2010 champion in the shot put at both the indoor and outdoor America East Championships also earned second place in the shot put with a career-best throw of 13.98 meters.
Arnett, the defending America East champion at the 200- and 400-meter distances, won the 300-meter dash at the Cornell Open in a time of 34.41. The senior also anchored the first-place 4x400 relay, which crossed the finish line in 3:20.37.
Guarente placed third in the high jump with a leap of 2.03 meters at the Jay Carisella Carnival on December 4 at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, Mass. Guarente finished third at the 2010 America East Indoor Championship with a jump of 1.93 meters. His season-opening performance bettered the height cleared by last season’s America East champion by .05 meters.
University at Albany indoor track and field did not compete over the weekend. The Great Danes do not open the 2011 campaign until January 7 at the West Point Invitational.
Binghamton University opened its 2010-11 indoor track and field season at the Cornell Relays, a non-scoring event in Ithaca, N.Y. The men’s team grabbed two first-place finishes, both of which involved senior Cazal Arnett (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King). Arnett won the 300-meter dash in a time of 34.41 and also anchored the first-place 4x400 relay, which crossed the finish line in 3:20.37. The Bearcat women set two school records at the meet. Sophomore Jessica Hennig (Pine Bush, N.Y./Pine Bush) covered 300 meters in 41.25, breaking her own school record of 41.38 while coming in fourth in the race. Junior Kaitlin Sullivan (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) finished fourth in the 60-meter hurdles in a school-record time of 9.04. Binghamton does not compete again until January 22 at the Cornell Upstate Challenge.
Boston University indoor track and field did not begin its 2010-11 campaign last weekend. The Terriers begin their season December 11 when they host a Boston University mini-meet.
University of Hartford track and field opened its 2010-11 indoor schedule with a dual meet at the University of Vermont on Saturday. The men’s squad fell to the Catamounts, 85-73, while the women fell by a margin of 81-75. Despite the loss, the Hawks saw seven different athletes finish first in their events while the 4x400 relay team took home top honors. The Hawks dominated the sprints as sophomore Ackeme Brown (Englewood, N.J./Dwight Morrow) won the 55-meter dash (6.53), junior Anderson Emerole (Jamaica, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Math and Sciences) captured the title in the 300-meters with a new school record (36.08) and senior Warren Lane (Brooklyn, N.Y./Murry Bergtraum) took first in the 500-meters (1:03.50). Also finding success on the track was junior Andrew Chalmers (Ashland, N.H./Plymouth Regional), who broke the 3,000-meter school record and took first in the event with his time of 8:52.14. In the field events, sophomore Kyle Cholewa (Griswold, Conn./Griswold) hit a mark of 14.24 meters in the weight throw, taking first in the event and breaking the school record by two meters in his first collegiate meet. The Hawk women took seven top finishes Saturday. Sophomore Priscilla Appiagyei (South Windsor, Conn./South Windsor) highlighted the performances with a top finish and school record in the 300-meter dash (42.56) while freshman Grace Lawal (Hempstead, N.Y./Uniondale) won the 55-meter dash in her first collegiate meet with her time of 7.51. In the field events, junior Nicolle Adams (Schoharie, N.Y./Schoharie) won the long jump (5.22-meters), freshman Ally Thatcher (Carver, Mass./Carver) took first in the triple (9.52-meters) and sophomore Catie Nyitray (Franklin Square, N.Y./H. Frank Carey) took top honors in the shot put (10.36-meters). Freshman Alisha Beeman (Stratford, Conn./Bunnell) won the pentathlon by 164 points, totaling 3,034, in her first-ever collegiate meet. The Hawks return to action on Saturday, December 11 when they travel to Cambridge, Mass. for the Harvard Invitational.
University of Maine indoor track and field did not compete last weekend. The Black Bears will open their season on December 10 when they visit America East foe New Hampshire.
UMBC track and field began its indoor season at the Bison Opener, a non-scoring meet hosted by Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa., on Saturday. For the men, sophomore TJ Cowing (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) and freshman Mo Drammeh (Frederick, Md./Thomas Johnson) both picked up individual wins, with Cowing winning the one-mile run in 4:26.56 and Drammeh taking the high jump with a leap of 2.01 meters. Senior Keith Brown took home bronze in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.41, while junior Joshua Hewitson earned bronze in the 800-meter run in 1:57.03. The women’s team was led by sophomore Amanda Deller (Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen), who won the women’s weight throw (16.50 meters) and earned second place in the shot put (13.98 meters), while Junior Laura Walker (Eldersburg, Md./Liberty) tied her own UMBC record in the women’s pole vault with a mark of 3.15 meters. Junior Imani Colbert (Upper Marlboro, Md./C.H. Flowers) earned silver in the women’s 60-meter hurdles in 8.75, while sophomore Chowan Brightful (New Market, Md./Linganore) was second in the women’s high jump with a mark of 1.60 meters. The Retrievers return to action Saturday, Jan. 8 for the Gulden Relays in Lewisburg, Pa.
The University of New Hampshire track and field teams opened their seasons at the Jay Carisella Carnival at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, Mass. The Wildcat men submitted a trio of top-three finishes at the non-scoring meet. Graduate student Tyler Dinnen (Juneau, Alaska/Melvin Douglas) won the 3,000 meters in a time of 8:34.82, freshman Kevin Greene (Md./Gonzaga) finished second in the 1000 meters, crossing the finish line at 2:32.09, and sophomore Matt Guarente (Saugus, Mass./Saugus) placed third in the high jump with a leap of 2.03 meters. The Wildcat women won four events at the non-scoring meet. Senior Camille Quarles (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) was victorious in the triple jump with a leap of 11.85 meters and also placed second in the long jump with a distance of 5.48 meters while classmate Kaitlin Kwiecien (Hampstead, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) ran to a first-place finish in the 800 meters in a time of 2:19.57. Graduate student Rita Ciambra (Hanover, N.H./Hanover) won the pole vault as she cleared a height of 3.97 meters. Senior Chelsey Canavan (Stoneham, Mass.) rounded out the New Hampshire winners as she took first in the 500 meters in a time of 1:16.25. New Hampshire returns to the track to host America East rival Maine on December 10.
Stony Brook University indoor track and field opened the 2010-11 season at a non-scoring meet hosted by Fordham. The men’s team grabbed one individual win as sophomore Stephen Reilly (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North) won the 60-meter dash with a personal-best time of 7.1 seconds. The Seawolves also fared well in the 3,000-meter run as three freshmen, Carlos Roa (Jamaica, N.Y./St. Francis Prep), Nicholas Lemon (Middletown, N.Y./Xavier) and Kevin Thorp (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively. In the field, junior Matt Carnes (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) grabbed a second-place finish with a weight throw of 15.44 meters. The women’s team also grabbed an individual win with junior Page Price, (Tampa, Fla./Berkley Prep) winning the one-mile run with a time of 5:02.03. Junior Kristal Conklin (Middletown, N.Y./Valley Central) and freshman Robin Lynn (Glen Gardner, N.J./Voorhees) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the mile. The Seawolves continue their season January 22 at the Princeton Relays.
University of Vermont opened its 2010-11 indoor track and field season with a sweep of America East foe Hartford. The men topped Hartford, 85-73, while the women won, 81-75. The men’s team won five individual events. Senior Beau Cameron (Grand Isle, Vt./Essex) led the Catamounts in the field as he earned the top spot in the high jump, clearing a height of 1.93 meters. Freshman Jamie Love (Armonk, N.Y./Byram Hills) also earned a win for the Catamounts, finishing first in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:40.04. For the women, sophomore Julie McGilpin (Westfield, Mass./Westfield) brought home two first-place finishes, winning the 500-meter and one-mile runs with times of 1:18.61 and 5:12.42, respectively. Junior Morgan Powers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hills) won the 3,000-meter run for the Catamounts, covering the distance in 9:54.90. The Catamounts do not return to the track until January 15 for a tri-meet against Dartmouth and America East foe Maine in Hanover, N.H.