The 18 America East track and field teams continued their outdoor seasons at a pair of regional meets last weekend. University of Hartford, University of New Hampshire and University of Vermont traveled to New Haven, Conn., for the New England Championships, while University at Albany, Binghamton University, Boston University, University of Maine, UMBC and Stony Brook University competed at the IC4A/ECAC meet in Princeton, N.J.
The New Hampshire women highlighted the weekend’s events, scoring 95 points to finish first out of 32 scoring teams and claim their first New England Championship. The Wildcat women picked up four individual titles on their way to the championship. Graduate student Rita Ciambra (Hanover, N.H./Hanover) took top honors in the pole vault, clearing a meet-record height of 4.10 meters while senior Camille Quarles (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) won the triple jump with a mark of 12.27 meters. Fellow senior Erica Jesseman (Scarborough, Maine/Scarborough) took first place in the 5,000 meters with a time of 17:04.34, while junior Keely Maguire (Georgetown, Mass./Triton) crossed the line in the 10,000 meters with a first-place time of 36:41.12.
Vermont sophomore Ase Lundin (Kullavik, Sweden/Universal School) led the Catamount women to a fourth-place team finish with her top mark of 1.72 meters in the high jump. Hartford finished 23, with all of its eight points coming from sophomore Priscilla Appiagyei (South Windsor, Conn./South Windsor), who took second place in the 400-meter dash.
On the men’s side, Vermont led the America East contingent, finishing eighth overall with 38 points. New Hampshire finished ninth with 34 points and Hartford picked up 19 points for a 17th-place finish. Vermont senior Josh Henshaw (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West ) led the Catamounts with an individual title in the javelin, hitting a mark of 62.02 meters. New Hampshire graduate student Paul DeTurk (Durham, N.H./Oyster River) picked up the Wildcats’ lone individual triumph, taking the top spot in the hammer throw with a toss of 60.91 meters. Hartford picked up a win on the track, winning the 4x100-meter relay.
At the ECAC/IC4A meets, Albany led the America East charge. The Great Dane men, fresh off winning their seventh straight America East Outdoor Track and Field Championship, finished third overall in the IC4A meet while the Great Dane women took fifth place in the ECAC meet one week after winning their third consecutive conference crown. In the IC4A meet, The Albany men were followed by UMBC, which finished 24th, Binghamton (28th), Boston U. (tied-39th) and Maine (tied-39th). In the women’s ECAC meet, Boston U. finished in 18th place and Maine took 20th place. Binghamton (42nd), Stony Brook (48th) and UMBC (53rd) also scored points at the meet.
The Albany men posted three individual wins and two second-place finishes to lead the Great Danes. Seniors Wilfredo de Jesus Elias (Arroyo, P.R./Natividad Rodriguez Gonzalez) and Luke Schoen (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) brought home wins in the field while junior Paul Lagno (Salt Point, N.Y./Millbrook) was victorious on the track. De Jesus Elias took first place in the hammer with a mark of 63.55 meters. Schoen, the Most Outstanding Field Performer at the 2011 America East Outdoor Championship, cleared a height of 5.15 meters. Lagno posted a first-place time of 3:44.66 in the 1,500 meters.
UMBC put together a strong showing in the men’s decathlon as senior Keith Onto (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant Boro/St. Francis (PA)) and graduate student Dominic Devaud (Baltimore, Md./Archbishop Curley) finished second and third, respectively, in the multi event.
The America East women scored five top-three event finishes. Maine junior Jessica Bond (Namur, Quebec/Cegep St. Jerome) picked up the highest finish by an America East woman, finishing second in the javelin with a toss of 46.33 meters. Fellow Black Bear junior Jesse Labreck (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee), the Coaches’ Award winner at the 2011 conference meet, took third place in the 100-meter hurdles. Boston U. junior Shelby Walton (Danbury, Conn./Danbury), the Coaches’ Award winner at the 2011 America East Outdoor Championship, earned a pair of third-place finishes, taking the bronze in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Boston U. senior Whitney Ford (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) earned the other top-three finish, finishing third in the triple jump.
Several America East student-athletes will compete at next week’s NCAA East Regional, which will take place at University of Indiana, May 26-28.