UAlbany also earned its highest finish in program history at the ECAC
Championship, which was held at the Reggie Lewis
Center, by tying for 12th
in the team standings. Fey Adaramola, a senior captain, accumulated 14 of her
team's 20 points to lead the way by winning the 60-meter dash and finishing
fifth in the 200.
"I told the women that they could have their best finish ever, and I told
the men that they could defend their championship," said head coach Roberto
Vives, who had both of his teams
sweep the America East Conference titles for the first time in program history
two weeks ago. "You really can't ask for more. Both of our teams really stepped
up and did what they had to do. It is really difficult to win a championship
meet with over 100 schools, and our men were able to do
that."
Just like last year, the
IC4A meet came down to the final three relays with UAlbany, George Mason and
Cornell all in the running to capture the title. The Colonials pulled ahead of
the Great Danes by 2.5 points after finishing third in the distance medley
relay, but UAlbany regained the lead it had for most of the meet by winning the
4x800 in 7:28.18. Fogarty led off the relay with a split time of 1:54, while
Sean Halpin ran the second leg in 1:53. Nick Santos (Colonie Central) finished
the third leg in 1:50.7, and John Moore (Fonda-Fultonville) anchored the squad
with a mark of 1:49.7. The men's 4x400 consisting of Jonathan Santana iced the
team title by finishing fourth in a season-best time of
3:11.31.
"We knew we needed to
finish higher than third," explained Fogarty on the group's mentality going into
the 4x800. "My split time wasn't great, but Sean and Nick stepped it up (on
their legs). I have to give John a lot of credit for getting us over the big
hump. We were in third, and he came away with the win for
us."
UAlbany, which held a one-point lead in the team standings after the
first day of action, got a big boost from the middle distance runners who
combined to accumulate 16 points in the mile early in the day. Fogarty became
the first Great Dane to win an individual event since 2006 by hitting the tape
in 4:09.72. Moore crossed the finish line in 4:10.16 to
place third.
"John and I definitely
worked together to get first and third," explained Fogarty, who was in the back
of the pack entering the last lap before making his move on the final turn and
winning the event by passing the leader in the final meters. "We both ran
personal bests yesterday to advance, and the finals in an event all become
practical. My time was nothing spectacular, but what was most important was
finishing for the place (and scoring
points)."
Siddeeq, who was named the 2009 USTFCCCA Northeast Region Field Athlete
of the Year, was victorious in the triple jump and became the first Great Dane
to win a field event at the meet. Siddeeq leaped 51-feet, 0.25-inches, which met
the NCAA provisional standard.
Wills, a team captain,
placed second in the heptathlon by scoring a personal-best 5,217 points. He most
notably won the high jump, clearing 6-feet, 8-inches, and finished second in the
long jump with a mark of 22-1.50. UAlbany also got extra points from Beauvais, who was fifth in
the 500-meter dash in 1:03.43.
In the women's meet,
Adaramola won the 60 in 7.55 seconds, which matched Ellakisha Williamson's
program standard registered in 1998, and placed fifth in the 200 by circling the
track in 24.47. Sheena Simpkins, a transfer from Mount Saint Mary's, and Kadine
Johnson also scored for the Great Danes. Simpkins placed fifth in the 500 in
1:14.63, while Johnson finished seventh in the weight throw with a toss that
sailed 56-3.75.
"This was the best indoor
season that we have ever had," added Vives, who
is in his 25th season. "Both the men and the women won America East
titles, our men earned their second straight IC4A championship and our women had
their best finish ever at ECACs. I am really excited about the outdoor
season."
Paw Prints:
UAlbany, which finished ahead of four
conference champions, became the first school to win its second straight IC4A
team title since Georgetown accomplished the feat in 2000 ... Tyler Fogarty and Nasim Siddeeq
were UAlbany's first event winners at the meet since 2006 ... Gered Burns, who is
currently serving as a volunteer middle distance assistant coach, won his third
consecutive 800-meter title and was a member of the victorious 4x400-meter relay
squad four years ago ... Fey Adaramola became the third Great Dane to place first
in an event at the ECAC Championship Jenna Ortman won the 1,000 in 2006, and
Jenn Gurrant was the triple jump champion in 2009 ... The Great Dane women posted
their highest finish ever at ECACs, bettering their 13th-place showing in
2007.
-agate-
IC4A Team
Standings
1.
UAlbany 68.50, 2. George Mason 65, T-3. Liberty 45.50, T-3. Cornell
45.50, 5. Delaware State 37, 6. Syracuse 33, 7. UMBC 32, 8. Navy 28,
T-9. Rutgers 25, T-9. William & Mary 25, 11. Seton Hall 22, 12.
Manhattan 20.50, 13. Temple 20, 14. Long Island 19, T-15. Morgan State
16, T-15. VCU 16, T-17. Connecticut 15, T-17, Pittsburgh 15, T-19.
Hampton 13, T-19. Rider 13. 21. Duke 12, T-22. Army 11, T-22.
Binghamton 11, T-22. New Hampshire 11, T-22. UMES 11, 26. Maine 10.50,
T-27. Harvard 10, T-27. Northeastern 10, T-27. VMI 10, T-27. Fordham
10, 31. Iona 9, 32. Lehigh 8.50, T-33. Pennsylvania 8, T-33. Sacred
Heart 8, T-33. Bucknell 8, T-36. St. Joseph's 7, T-36. Dartmouth 7, 38.
Duquesne 5, 39. St. Francis, N.Y. 4.50, T-40. Lafayette 4, T-40.
Monmouth 4, T-40. Brown 4, T-40. Rhode Island 4, T-44. Coppin State 3,
T-44. Boston U. 3, T-44. Lincoln, Pa. 3, T-47. Colgate 2, T-47. Boston
College 2, T-47. Massachusetts 2, 50. Southern Connecticut State 1.50,
T-51. La Salle 1, T-51. Mount Saint Mary's 1.
UAlbany Men's
Results
500-Meter Dash (Finals):
5. Alie Beauvais 1:03.43. Mile (Finals): 1. Tyler Fogarty
4:09.72, 3. John Moore 4:10.16. Triple
Jump: 1. Nasim Siddeeq 51-0.25 (NCAA Provisional), 9. Valete Graham
46-11.50, 19. Kadeem Howell 44-5.50. Heptathlon: 2. Freddie Wills 5,217
points. 4x400-Meter Relay (Finals):
4. Jonathan Santana, Peter Rowell, Jeffery Barnes, Alie Beauvais 3:11.31. 4x800-Meter Relay (Finals): 1. Tyler
Fogarty, Sean Halpin, Nick Santos, John Moore
7:28.18.
ECAC Team
Standings
1.
Connecticut 84.50, 2. Seton Hall 65, 3. George Mason 45, 4. Rutgers 33,
5. Cornell 31, 6. Rhode Island 24, 7. Yale 22, T-8. Manhattan 21, T-8.
New Hampshire 21, T-8. William & Mary 21, T-8. Syracuse 21, T-12.
UAlbany 20, T-12. Boston College 20, T-14. Princeton 19, T-14.
Providence 19, T-16. Pennsylvania 17.75, T-16. Harvard 17.75, 18.
Temple 16.50, T-19. Boston U. 16, T-19. Villanova 16, 21. Long Island
15, T-22. St. John's 14, T-22. Delaware 14, 24. Pittsburgh 13.50, T-25.
Vermont 12, T-25. Navy 12, T-27. Towson 10, T-27. VCU 10, T-27. George
Washington 10, T-27. UMES 10, 31. Dartmouth 9, T-32. Saint Francis, Pa.
8, T-32. Brown 8, T-32. West Virginia 8, T-32. Fordham 8, T-32.
Northeastern 8, T-32. Liberty 8, 38. Maine 7, T-39. Massachusetts 6,
T-39. La Salle 6, T-39. Duquesne 6, 42. Sacred Heart 5, T-43. Colgate
3, T-43. UMBC 3, T-43. Monmouth 3, 46. Bucknell 2.50, T-47. James
Madison 2, T-47. Binghamton 2, T-47. St. Joseph's 2, 50. Army 1.50,
T-51. St. Francis, N.Y. 1, T-51. Morgan State 1.
UAlbany Women's
Results
60-Meter Dash (Finals):
1. Fey Adaramola 7.55 (Matches School Record). 200-Meter Dash (Finals): 5. Fey
Adaramola 24.47. 500-Meter Dash
(Finals): 5. Sheena Simpkins 1:14.63. 3,000-Meter Run (Finals): Jenn Pierson.
Triple Jump: 13. Tiffany Sprenkels
38-6, 20. Ashley Mahlmeister 37-9.25. Weight Throw: 7. Kadine Johnson
56-3.75.