CAMBRIDGE, Mass.— Four America East student-athletes earned weekly awards for their winning performances over the weekend. University at Albany sophomore Paul Lagno (Salt Point, N.Y./Millbrook) earned Male Track Performer of the Week while University of Vermont senior Beau Cameron (Grand Isle, Vt./Essex) grabbed Male Field Performer of the Week honors. For the women, UMBC senior Sara Parkinson (Chorley, England/Loughborough University) took Track Performer of the Week and University of Maine junior Jesse Labreck (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee) earned Field Performer of the Week distinction.
Lagno won the 3,000-meter run at the Penn State Nittany Lion Challenge in a school-record time of 8:18.41. The sophomore finished more than two seconds ahead of Penn State’s Nick Scarpello as he shattered Robbie Freeman’s Albany standard of 8:19.10, set in 2006. Lagno’s time also qualified for the IC4A Championships in March.
Cameron won the high jump at the Catamounts’ tri-meet against Dartmouth and America East foe Maine. The senior set his season-best mark of 1.88 meters. Cameron’s leap is the sixth-best mark in America East this season.
Parkinson won the 3,000-meter run in a career-best and ECAC-qualifying time of 9:45.43 at the NYRR Saturday Night at the Armory Saturday. The senior’s time was nearly eight seconds faster than her previous best.
Labreck won a pair of events for the Black Bears at a tri-meet featuring Dartmouth and America East rival Vermont. The junior won the 60-meter hurdles with an ECAC-qualifying time of 8.68 and also qualified for the ECAC meet in the long jump as she won with a leap of 5.98 meters.
University at Albany competed at the Penn State Nittany Lion Challenge on January 15. The meet, which was non-scoring, also featured top-ranked Florida, Maryland and Cornell. The Great Dane men had two first-place finishers and won the distance medley relay at the meet. Sophomore Paul Lagno (Salt Point, N.Y./Millbrook) set a school record in winning the 3,000-meter run. Lagno posted a time of 8:18.41 to break Robbie Freeman’s 2006 standard of 8:19.10. Junior Nick Santos (Albany, N.Y./Colonie Central) led a group of 10 Great Dane individuals who earned IC4A and ECAC qualifying marks. Santos won the 800-meters in 1:53.27 and also ran the first leg of Albany’s first-place distance medley relay. Junior Chris Burke (Tully, N.Y./Tully), sophomores Alex Petit-Frere (Nanuet, N.Y./Spring Valley) and Sean Halpin (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Iona Prep) also ran in the distance medley relay (10:15.50). Junior Peter Rowell (Scotia, N.Y./Scotia-Glenville), who was third in the 600-meters in a school-record time of 1:20.12, also anchored the 4x400 relay to a second-place finish. Sophomores Jonathan Santana (Rochester, N.Y./Edison Tech), Taylor Chaney (Huntington Station, N.Y./St. Anthony’s) and Ebube Abara (Loudonville, N.Y./Shaker) also ran in the 4x400 relay. The Albany women had one first-place finisher at the meet as senior Sandy Antenor (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) won the triple jump with an ECAC-qualfying leap of 12.20 meters. Antenor led a group of 10 individuals who earned IC4A and ECAC qualifying marks. The senior is the sixth Albany athlete to record a 40-plus foot triple jump. Senior Kadine Johnson (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) was sixth in the weight throw, but still registered an ECAC-qualifying toss of 16.33 meters. Freshman Brianne Bellon (Greenfield, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) nearly set a school record in her first meet as a collegian as she placed third in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:50.08, just six-hundredths of a second off Jessica Ortman’s 2007 record. Sophomore Sherez Mohamed (Albany, N.Y./Academy of the Holy Names) and senior Christen Griffin (Waldorf, Md./Maurice J. McDonough) qualified for the ECAC meet in the 300-meters and 60m-hurdles, respectively. Freshman Jonelle White (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) was second in the 800-meter run as she reached the line in 2:19.04. Albany hosts the Great Dane Classic on Friday, Jan. 21 at the New York City Armory, beginning at 12:30 p.m.
Binghamton University did not compete over the weekend. The Bearcats return to action January 22 at the Cornell Upstate meet in Ithaca, N.Y.
Boston University did not have a meet last weekend. The Terriers open their season when they host a multi-team meet January 20.
University of Hartford was idle last week. The Hawks will compete for the first time in 2011 when they head to the Wesleyan Open on January 22.
University of Maine competed in a tri-meet against Dartmouth and America East rival Vermont. The Black Bear men and women each earned second place at the meet, with the men tallying 54 points and the women putting up 53 points. For the men, junior Riley Masters (Bangor, Maine/Bangor) won the mile in an IC4A-qualifying time of 4:14.61. Sophomores James Reed (Garmisch, Germany) and Paul Kelley (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton) also earned wins at the meet. Reed placed first in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.46. Kelley earned a win in the 500-meter run, posting a time of 1:06.43. The women were led by juniors Jesse Labreck (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee) and Corey Conner (Townsend, Mass./North Middlesex Regional) and sophomore Cearha Miller (Oxon Hill, Md./Oxon Hill). Labreck won the 60-meter hurdles with an ECAC-qualifying time of 8.68. She also qualified in the long jump, winning the event with a leap of 5.98 meters. Conner won the mile run with an ECAC-qualifying time of 4:52.71 while also winning the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:58.54. Miller also qualified for the ECAC meet as she won the 60 meters with a time of 7.61. Next up for the Black Bears is a dual meet at Bates College on January 22.
UMBC competed at the NYRR Saturday Night at the Armory in New York City this past weekend. The men earned a fifth-place finish with 61 points while the women finished 10th with 17 points. The men’s 4x800-meter relay team of senior Michael Christmas (Invercargill, New Zealand/James Hargest College), junior Roy Jones (New Market, Md./Linganore), freshman Jake Albino (Hampton, N.Y./Minisink Valley) and senior Chris Snyder (McConnellsburg, Pa./McConnellsburg) picked up the win in an IC4A-qualifying time of 7:51.60. Junior Joshua Hewitson (New Market, Md./Linganore) made his season debut in the men’s 500-meter run, an event in which he holds the school record, finishing third in an IC4A-qualifying time of 1:04.44. The UMBC women were led by senior Sara Parkinson (Chorley, England/Loughborough University) who made her indoor-season debut, winning the 3,000-meter run in a career-best and ECAC-qualifying time of 9:45.43, nearly eight seconds faster than her previous best. In the 400-meter dash, freshman Kirsten Jones (Brentwood, Tenn./M.L.K. Magnet) placed sixth in a UMBC season-best time of 58.18. The Retrievers return to action next Saturday for the Maryland Indoor Invitational in Landover, Md.
University of New Hampshire was idle last week. The Wildcats return to action on January 22 when they host a tri-meet with Holy Cross and Quinnipiac.
Stony Brook University did not compete over the weekend. The Seawolves next compete at the Princeton Relays on January 22.
University of Vermont competed against Dartmouth and America East foe Maine in a tri-meet on Saturday. Both the men and women took third place, with the men scoring 29 points and the women scoring 46 points. Senior Beau Cameron (Grand Isle, Vt./Essex) and sophomore Dan Ciabattoni (Reading, Pa./Holy Name) led the men’s team winning two field events. Cameron won the high jump with a mark of 1.88 meters. Ciabattoni took home first place in the long jump, with a leap of 6.49 meters. Junior Mari Fourie (Waterloo, Ontario/Ontario Schools) led the women’s team finishing second in the 60-meter and 200-meter dash. Fourie posted a time of 7.90 in the 60-meters and 26.40 in the 200-meters. The women’s team also had a strong showing in the distance events as sophomore Kirsten Weberg (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) won the 3000-meters with a time of 10:19.14. The Catamounts were led in the field events with sophomore Mary Krug (Essex, Vt./Essex) winning the pole vault with a mark of 3.35 meters. Vermont returns to competition on Friday, January 21 when it hosts Middlebury and Saint Peter’s at 4 p.m. at the Gardner Collins Indoor Track Facility.