CAMBRIDGE, Mass.— Four indoor track and field student-athletes grabbed performer of the week honors after winning events and setting school records over the weekend. Boston University sophomore R. J. Page (Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway Regional) earned Male Track Performer of the Week while University at Albany senior Wilfredo de Jesus Elias grabbed Male Field Performer of the Week. For the women, University of Maine junior Corey Conner garnered Track performer of the Week accolades while teammate Jesse Labreck took Field Performer of the Week honors.
Page led the way for Boston U. with two wins at the Battle of Beantown. The sophomore won the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.89 and also shared the 200-meter dash title with junior teammate Tewado Latty. Page’s time of 22.06 set a meet record in the event.
De Jesus Elias took the Performer of the Week honor for the second straight week after he shattered his own school record in the weight throw with a toss of 19.96 meters. The throw earned the senior a fifth-place finish at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational. The throw also set the conference’s top mark this winter.
Conner won the mile against Holy Cross with a time of 4:56.17. The junior also took the 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:10.23. Both times are in the top 10 in school history and are ECAC-qualifying times. Conner was also awarded the prestigious Dean Smith Award, given to Maine’s top male and female student-athlete.
Labreck took the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.84, the triple jump with a leap of 12.15 meters and the long jump with a measurement of 6.00 meters. All of her marks are among the top-five in school history and qualify for the ECAC meet.
University at Albany competed at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational on February 4-5 at the Armory Track & Field Center in New York City. The men finished 11th in the team standings. Junior Chris Burke (Tully, N.Y./Tully) was second in the college mile run with an IC4A-qualifying time of 4:09.95. Burke also rallied the 4x800-meter relay to victory in the closing laps with another IC4A mark of 7:40.49. Sophomore Jonathan Santana (Rochester, N.Y./Edison Tech) anchored the 4x200 relay to a school record of 1:27.24, breaking the old standard of 1:28.74. Santana also ran a 47.8 split in the 400-meter dash as part of the distance medley relay that finished second to Duke in 9:47.02. Senior Wilfredo de Jesus Elias (Arroyo, Puerto Rico/Natividad Rodriguez Gonzalez) eclipsed his own school record in the weight throw with a toss of 19.96 meters. De Jesus Elias placed fifth in the competition with the conference’s top throw this winter. Sophomore Alex Leuchanka (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) was second in the eastern 3,000-meters (8:31.66) and classmate Tristan Akong (Springfield Gardens, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) took third in the 60-meter dash (IC4A, 6.98). The Albany women were led by freshman Brianne Bellon (Greenfield, N.Y./Saratoga Springs), who ran the lead-off 1,200-meter leg on the distance medley relay that qualified for the ECAC meet in 11:47.04. Bellon was joined by sophomore Sherez Mohamed (Albany, N.Y./Academy of the Holy Names) and freshmen Jonelle White(Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) and Kathryn Fanning (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) to produce a time that was less than one second off the school record. Bellon also placed fourth in the college mile run with a time of 4:58.32, the sixth-fastest in school history. Senior Jenn Pierson (Binghamton, N.Y./Chenango Valley) won the eastern 3,000-meter run and clocked in with a season-best 10:02.61. Sophomore Alli Rogers (Amherst, N.Y./Amherst Central) sprinted 56.4 seconds on the first leg of the winning New York-New Jersey 4x400-meter relay (3:50.95). Senior Yushanni Durrant (Montego Bay, Jamaica/Mount Alvernia), competing for the first time this season, was third in the 60-hurdles with an ECAC time of 8.72. The Great Danes compete at the NYRR Saturday Night at the Armory February 12.
Binghamton University competed at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational. The Bearcat men were led by senior Erik van Ingen (Marathon, N.Y./Marathon/Canisius), posted a time of 2:21.28 in the 1,000 meters, a time that paces America East this season. For the women, sophomore Jessica Hennig (Pine Bush, N.Y./Pine Bush) ran the 500 meters in 1:16.02 while freshman Camille Ginyard (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) cleared a height of 3.65 meters in the pole vault. Both marks are good for second in the conference this season.
Boston University competed at the Battle of Beantown at Harvard’s Gordon Indoor Track on Friday night. The men won six events and finished second with 158 points, just one point behind first-place Northeastern, while the Terrier women also finished second with 116 points. The Boston U. men’s runners set three meet records. Sophomore R.J. Page (Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway Regional) led the way for Boston U. with two wins. He won the 60-meter dash (6.89) and also shared the 200-meter dash title with junior Tewado Latty (Kingston, Jamaica/White Plains) while setting a meet record with a time of 22.06. Junior Matt Paulson (Manchester, N.H./Manchester Central/Union), who won the mile run at the Terrier Invitational, set a meet record with his second mile victory of the season (4:08.85). The Terriers’ 4x400-meter relay team of Latty, freshman Stephen Vitale (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) and seniors Mike Zimmerman (Needham, Mass./Xaverian Brothers) and Joel Senick (Saskatoon, Sask./Holy Cross) also garnered a win (3:19.95). The Terriers also finished first and second in two races, including Latty (48.25) and Senick (48.58) in the 400-meter dash and freshman Rich Peters (Bristol, England/Brimsham Green School), who also set a meet record (8:10.53), and graduate student Eric Ashe (Hanson, Mass./Whitman-Hanson) (8:19.94) in the 3,000-meter run. Both Peters and Ashe ran IC4A-qualifying times. Senior James Weider (East Patchogue, N.Y./Bellport) and freshman Blake Edwards (Nashville, Tenn./Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet) also posted IC4A-qualifying marks in 1,000m run (2:29.95) and long jump (7.05m), respectively. The women won four events at the Battle of Beantown. Sophomore Nikko Brady (New Castle, Del./Charter School of Wilmington) posted ECAC-qualifying marks as she won two events for the Terriers, including the 60-meter hurdles (8.50) and long jump (5.79m). Sophomore Allison Barwise (Orange, Conn./Amity Regional) won the high jump (1.73m) with an ECAC-qualifying mark and junior Shelby Walton (Danbury, Conn./Danbury) placed first in the 60-meter dash (7.59). Junior Katie Matthews (Rocky Hill, Conn./Rocky Hill) (4:52.83) and freshman Rosa Moriello (Naugatuck, Conn./Naugatuck) (4:57.56) posted ECAC-qualifying times in the mile run, while sophomore Catherine Milledge (Hartford, Conn./Weaver) posted an ECAC-qualifying time of 8.77 in the 60-meter hurdles. Boston U. will return to action on Friday, February 11 when it competes in the Valentine Invitational at the Boston U. Track & Tennis Center.
University of Hartford competed at the Dartmouth Classic, a non-scoring meet, on Saturday. For the men, two individuals took first place in their respective events. Junior Anderson Emerole (Jamaica, N.Y./Manhattan Center for Math and Sciences) crossed the finish line first in the 500-meter run at 1:06.41. Warren Lane (Brooklyn, N.Y./Murry Bergtruam), a senior sprinter, also had a strong showing as he took second in the 400, clocking in at 50.43. The pair then went on to join the 4x200 squad which combined to outrun its opponents in school-record fashion (1:31.10), erasing the program’s former record of 1:31.87 set last season. In the field events, rookie Rashawn Providence (Valley Stream, N.Y./Valley Stream South) had the top mark in the triple jump with a leap of 13.09 meters. Junior Kenterra Richardson (Temple Hills, Md./Forestville Military Academy) got things started for the Hartford women in the 60-meter dash when she claimed her heat in the preliminaries and went on to finish eighth in the event (8.26). In the 400-meter race, sophomore Priscilla Appiagyei (South Windsor, Conn./South Windsor) finished fourth at 59.07 while classmate Natalie Bonham (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) turned in the fifth-best time in the 500-meter event (1:22.29). In the field events, junior Nicolle Adams (Schoharie, N.Y./Schoharie) and freshman Rebecca Cheatham (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) ranked seventh and eighth in the long jump with respective distances of 5.10 and 4.97 meters. The Hawks next compete at Boston University’s Valentine’s Invitational February 11-12.
University of Maine hosted the Maine Open with Holy Cross. The Black Bear men earned a 108-68 win while the women were also victorious, 90-82. For the men, sophomore James Reed (Garmisch, Germany/Munich International) took the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.67. The time ranks in the top-10 in school history and also qualified him for the IC4A meet. In the field events, junior Trevor England (Auburn, Maine/Poland) took the triple jump with a top-10 school performance of 14.19 meters and placed second in the long jump with a mark of 6.52 meters. The Black Bear women were paced by junior Corey Conner (Townsend, Mass./North Middlesex Regional). Conner won the mile run with a time of 4:56.17 and the 5,000 with a time of 17:10.23. Both times rank in the top-10 in Maine history and are ECAC-qualifying times. Conner was also recognized with the prestigious Dean Smith Award, given to Maine’s top male and female student-athletes. In the field junior Jesse Labreck (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee) took the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.84, the triple jump with a leap of 12.15 meters and the long jump with a measurement of 6.00 meters. Those marks are among the top five in school history and qualify for the ECAC meet.
UMBC competed at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational this past weekend in New York City. For the men, freshman Jake Albino (Hampton, N.Y./Minisink Valley) took home second in the 800-meter run, finishing in a UMBC season-best and IC4A-qualifying time of 1:53.94, less than a second off the school record. Junior Joshua Hewitson (New Market, Md./Linganore) crossed the line ninth (championship division) in 1:04.22. Freshman Brandan McGee (Hiram, Ohio/Crestwood) posted a UMBC-season best time of 14:55.99 in the 5,000-meter run, beating his previous high mark by 15 seconds. The UMBC women were led by senior Sara Parkinson (Chorley, England/Loughborough University), who finished ninth in the women’s one-mile run in a UMBC season-best time of 4:59.81. Freshman Kirsten Jones (Brentwood, Tenn./M.L.K. Magnet) continued her impressive campaign, producing a UMBC season-best time of 57.14 in the 400-meter dash, placing 11th. Fellow freshman Deborah Adelola (Lanham, Md./Bladensburg) posted a school season-best time of 1:16.73 in the 500-meter dash, finishing ninth. The Retrievers return to New York next weekend to take part in the Rider/Lafayette Winter games.
University of New Hampshire competed at the Dartmouth Classic over the weekend. The men earned four first-place finishes while the women won five events. The men were led by sophomore high jumpers Matthew Guarente (Saugus, Mass./Saugus) and Jason Guarente (Saugus, Mass./Saugus). Matthew cleared a height of 2.04 meters to win the event while Jason jumped 1.98 meters to claim second. Matthew Guarente’s jump is tied for tops in America East this season. For the women, senior Rita Ciambra (Hanover, N.H./Hanover) cleared an America East season-best height of 4.01 meters to win the event. Next up for the Wildcats is a dual meet against America East foe Vermont.
Stony Brook University participated in the Giegengack Invitational at Yale University over the weekend. For the men, junior Gerard Harley (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) was the top finisher for the Seawolves, taking third place in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:37.67. For the women, freshman Olivia Burne (Palmerston, New Zealand/Palmerston North) just missed winning the one mile with a time of 4:46.93, just .61 seconds off the pace. Next up for the Seawolves is the Valentine Invitational at Boston University on February 11.
The University of Vermont split its track and field squads, sending student-athletes to the Dartmouth Classic and the New Balance Collegiate Invitational. For the men, freshmen Aaron Tenney (St. Alban’s, Vt./Bellows Free Academy) and Bobby Mitros (Towanda, Pa./Towanda Area Senior) grabbed fourth-place finishes in the high jump and pole vault, respectively, at the Dartmouth Classic. Junior Connor Jennings (Concord, N.H./Concord) led the men at New Balance, finishing 14th in the 3,000 meters in a time of 8:32.07. The women were led by junior Morgan Powers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hills) who placed fifth in the one mile with a time of 4:58.71 at New Balance. At Dartmouth, sophomore Mary Krug (Essex, Vt./Essex) finished second in the pole vault to lead the Catamounts in the field. The Catamounts return to the track February 12 at the Valentine Invitational in Boston, Mass., before competing in a dual meet against New Hampshire February 12.