BOSTON – After day one of the
2012 America East Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship at the Boston
University Track and Tennis Center, the Boston University women and Binghamton
men lead the team standings. In addition, a total of 11 champions were crowned
on day one.
For
the second straight year, Binghamton finished the first day of competition with
57 points. Six-time defending champion Albany is close behind with 46.50. Host
school Boston U. ranks third with 24.50 with New Hampshire nipping at its heels
after collecting 24 points on day one. Maine (16 points), Stony Brook (9), UMBC
(8), Hartford (6) and Vermont (4) round out the men’s standings.
The
Boston U. women jumped out to an 11-point lead over New Hampshire, 58-47, as we
head into day two. Albany, the two-time defending champion, will have to mount
a comeback to capture the three-peat with its 30 points. Binghamton sits in
fourth with 27 points while Vermont is a close fifth with 23 points. UMBC (22
points), Maine (13), Stony Brook (10) and Hartford (4) complete the women’s
standings.
Maine’s
Jesse Labreck captured the day’s first gold medal winning the women’s
pentathlon with a total of 3959 points. That total represents a facility and
America East Championship record, breaking the mark set last season by Boston
U.’s Allison Barwise. Labreck won three out of the five events (long jump, 60
meter hurdles and 800 meter run).
Also
impressive on the first day for the women was UMBC’s Mercedes Jackson. The
freshman ran a 7.52 in the 60 meter dash preliminaries to set a new facility
record. Jackson and Boston U. sprinter Shelby Walton went 1-2 in both the 60
meter and 200 meter dash prelims setting up exciting finals on Saturday.
Boston
U. sophomore Rosa Moriello took gold in the 5,000 meter run, finishing the race
in an ECAC-qualifying time of 16:28.81.
Stony
Brook picked up its ten points on the day from its distance medley team which
cruised to victory in 11:45.67, more than nine seconds faster than second-place
Albany.
Also
winning gold on day one were Albany’s Patricia McNish, who took the long jump crown
with a leap of 5.95 meters, Binghamton’s Camille Ginyard, who cleared 3.75
meters in the pole vault, and UMBC’s Amanda Deller, who recorded a 16.83-meter
toss in the weight throw. All three of those marks qualify for the ECAC
Championship.
A
pair of exciting finishes highlighted the men’s side on day one. No race
featured more excitement than the men’s 5,000 meter run. Albany’s Alex
Leuchanka trailed until the final two laps of the race before bolting by his
competition to win by nearly five seconds in 14:24.30. Binghamton’s Adam Quinn
finished second (14:29.09) and New Hampshire’s Daniel Decrescenzo finished
third (14:31.27).
The
men’s distance medley relay also came down to the final two laps. Stony Brook
led the pack until the closing stages of the 1600, when Binghamton’s Erik van
Ingen made the outside move to take control for the Bearcats, who won with a
final time of 9:56.70.
Albany
had a successful first day in the field events, taking two out of three
championship finals. In the pole vault, Alfonso Scannapieco cleared 5.21 meters
on his second attempt to take gold. Scannapieco also leads the men’s heptathlon
after four events with 2810 points.
In
the long jump, Kadeem Howell, the fourth-place finisher in 2011, won the event on
the final leap of the night, recording a mark 7.30 meters.
Maine’s
Wilson Adams took home gold in the weight throw with an IC4A-qualifying heave
of18.44 meters.
The
final day of the indoor track and field championship begins tomorrow morning at
10 a.m. with the conclusion of the men’s heptathlon. An awards ceremony with
also take place at the end of the meet.
Men's Team Standings - 5 Events Scored
1) Binghamton 57
2) Albany 46.50
3) Boston University
4) New Hampshire
5) Maine
6) Stony Brook
7) UMBC
8) Hartford
9) Vermont
Women's Team Standings - 6 Events Scored
1) Boston University, 58
2) New Hampshire, 47
3) Albany, 30
4) Binghamton, 27
5) Vermont, 23
6) UMBC, 22
7) Maine, 13
8) Stony Brook, 10
9) Hartford, 4