BOSTON – After a sweep of the America East Indoor Track and Field Championship in 2010 and 2011, the University at Albany men’s and women’s squads head to Boston this weekend as the favorites to grab the team titles once again. The men look to capture their seventh straight conference crown while the women are in search of the three-peat.
The Great Dane men were picked to win the championship by the league’s coaches back in November and ride the strength of their talented distance runners. Paul Lagno has the conference’s third-best time in the mile run this season with a 4:01.86 just two weeks ago. Look for Chris Burke and Chris Buchanan to score points in the distance races for the Danes, as well. The 2011 Track and Field Scholar Athlete of the Year Peter Rowell won the 500 meters in 2011 and will lead Albany in the mid-distance races. Albany’s multi-event competitors posted the top three scores in the heptathlon this season, as well.
Boston U. was picked second in the preseason poll after a third-place finish in the 2011 championship and aims to make a move at the crown behind a strong collection of talent all around. Two of the league’s top sprinters set the pace for the conference during the regular season. R.J. Page sprinted to the conference’s best time in the 200 meter dash this season and Joel Senick did the same in the 400 and 500 meters. The Terriers also return three of the four members of 2011’s 4x800 championship relay team. That group is led by Rich Peters, who set a school record in the mile run at last week’s Valentine Invitational with a 3:57.83 and won gold in 2011. That time qualified Peters for the NCAA Championship and ranks second in America East. Rookie Stuart Ross has made a nice impact for the Terriers in his first season on Comm. Ave leading the way in the mid-distance races.
Binghamton, who finished right behind Albany in 2010 and 2011, looks to the leadership of one of the top distance runners in the nation to unseat the Danes. Fifth-year senior Erik van Ingen met the NCAA Championship qualification standard in the mile run and 3,000 meter. In addition, van Ingen has set the conference standard in those two races and the 800 meters. Joining van Ingen is fellow distance star Jeff Martinez, the third-place finisher in the 5,000 meters in 2011, and a talented pole vaulter in Eric VanAernam.
UMBC, tabbed fourth in the preseason poll, gears up to build on its fourth-place finish at the 2011 championship. The Retrievers strength lies in the field events, where Cameron McDearmon is the conference’s top qualifier in the weight throw with his 61’9.5” toss at last weekend’s Lafayette/Rider Winter Games. Aaron Brooks, meanwhile, will challenge for shot put supremacy entering competition with the second-best heave in the conference this season. On the track, junior Trae Proctor ran consistently all season in the 60 meter hurdles and is the favorite to defend his title in the event. His time of 8.02 is No. 2 all-time at UMBC.
New Hampshire enters championship weekend hoping to improve on a fifth-place finish in 2011. The Wildcats boast one of the top throwers in the conference in Brice Paey, a five-time Field Performer of the Week this season. Paey reached the NCAA provisional mark for the automatic qualifier in the shot put and has broken the UNH record on several occasions. His last record-breaking performance saw him post a toss of 60’3”. Meanwhile D’mahl McFadden aims to score points for the Wildcats in the sprint events.
Maine will rely on the performances of sprinter Frank Del Duca and jumper Trevor England to earn points this year. Del Duca established himself as one of the league’s top sprinters while England leapt to the conference’s best mark in the triple jump (48’5.25”) and is the defending champion in the event.
Vermont travels to Boston looking to exceed the league’s coaches seventh place preseason prediction. The Catamounts’ distance medley team posted one of the top times in the conference this year and Chris Lemieux will look to score points in the high jump.
Stony Brook’s Eric Speakman leads the Seawolves into Boston. The 2011 Cross Country Scholar-Athlete, Speakman ran the conference’s fourth-best mile time this year (4:04.00) last weekend on the same Boston U. track.
The sprinter-distance runner tandem of Anderson Emerole and Andrew Chalmers will challenge for points for Hartford. Emerole is the Hawks’ top returning finisher from the 2011 championship.
On the women’s side, Albany seeks its third consecutive America East title after 2011’s dominant performance in Boston. The Danes topped the field with the second highest championship point total (206.50) in league history. Allison Rogers and Sherez Mohamed enter as the top seeds in the 400 and 500 meter runs as does the Great Dane 4x800 relay team. In the field, Patricia McNish leapt 19’4” in late January to set the conference standard in the long jump and sits just three-quarters of an inch away from posting the best triple jump mark this season, as well. A balanced all-around team has Albany in prime position for the three-peat.
Boston University won a string of four straight indoor titles from 2006-2009 and has the talent to return to the top this year. The Terriers have a strong core at all positions with Katie Matthews, Shelby Walton and Alison Barwise leading the way. Matthews has the eighth-fastest time in the nation this year in the 5,000 meters, a school-record time of 15:52.80 and captured All-American honors last year. Walton is one of the conference’s top sprinters bolting to a 24.28 clip in the 200 meter dash at the Valentine Invitational while Barwise is the defending champion in the high jump.
New Hampshire climbed to No. 3 in the preseason poll after a fourth-place showing in 2011 and can expect a solid weekend from Allison Letourneau. The senior posted top-3 times in the 1,000, the mile and the 3,000 this year while setting UNH records in the 1,000 and the mile. Combined with other top distance runners Keely Maguire and Sydney Fitzpatrick and thrower Rosemary Read, who has the top weight throw toss this year, the Wildcats will be contenders.
Look for Maine’s Jesse Labreck to pace the Black Bear women this weekend. Having collected three Field Performer of the Week awards this season, Labreck enters the meet one of the conference most versatile athletes. She earned the most points of any competitor (38) at the 2011 championship and has posted top marks in the 60 meter hurdles and the pentathlon this year. Meanwhile, rookie pole vaulter Vasiliki Papakotsi has been solid all year and will challenge for the vault title.
Vermont looks to improve on last year’s fifth-place finish when they arrive in Boston this weekend. Mid-distance specialist Julie McGilpin leads the way for the Catamounts after ranking among the league’s top performers in the 800 (second) and 1,000 (seventh) meter runs. Morgan Powers will challenge at the longer distances for UVM.
Binghamton will need to ride the strength of its field performers to exceed its eighth-place finish in 2011. Jenna Marrione is the top qualifier in the pole vault (12’3.5”) while teammate Camille Ginyard is not far behind ranking third among conference leaders. Ashley AuPont sits closely behind Boston U.’s Barwise and Maine’s Labreck and should challenge in the high jump.
Success for the Retriever women this weekend will start with the reigning shot put champion Amanda Deller. The junior ranks first in that event and will also be a force in the weight throw as she ranks third entering the championship. Also keep an eye on freshman sprinting sensation Mercedes Jackson, who has made an immediate impact in Baltimore with her performance in the 60 meter dash.
Stony Brook’s core of distance talent will again be on display this weekend led by national championship contender Lucy Van Dalen. She boasts the nation’s second fastest mile time and seventh fastest 3,000 time. Van Dalen qualified for the NCAA championship in both of those races.
An improved Hartford squad heads into Boston confidence in freshman sprinter Tiffany Harrison and sophomore distance runner Megan Barry. Both have been bright spots for the Hawks this year.