Binghamton Men and Women Lead After Day One of Track and Field Championship

Binghamton Men and Women Lead After Day One of Track and Field Championship

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ORONO, Maine – After day one of competition at the 2012 America East Outdoor Track and Field Championship, Binghamton leads the title races on both the men’s and women’s sides.

The Bearcat men jumped ahead of the field with 66 points followed by defending champion Albany which tallied 45 points and Maine with 43.50 points. New Hampshire checks in at a close fourth with 36.50 points and Boston University sits in fifth place racking up 33.50 points. Vermont (22), UMBC (16.50), Stony Brook (9) and Hartford round out the men’s team scoring.

Binghamton grabbed 46 points to take the early lead in a tight women’s race. Reigning champion Albany trails the Bearcats by only 6 points tallying 40 on day one. New Hampshire and Vermont went 3-4 with 33 and 31 points respectively, while the preseason favorite Boston University finished with 27 points. Host Maine collected 26 points as Stony Brook (16), UMBC (11) and Hartford (4) complete the women’s standings.

In women’s action, Binghamton took two of the top three spots in the pole vault competition as Camille Ginyard took gold and her teammate Jenna Marrione collected the bronze. The Bearcats also had a pair of top qualifiers to highlight their day in Orono. Kaitlin Sullivan ran a 14.24 in the 100-meter hurdles and Jessica Hennig, the defending silver-medalist in the 400-meter dash, qualified No. 1 for tomorrow’s final in the same event.

Vermont also had a strong first day, winning two events and qualifying 1-2 in the women’s 800-meter run. Nika Ouelette crushed the America East record in the javelin throw with an impressive toss of 164-feet. Ouelette broke the record set by Vermont’s Heather Taft back in 1993. The other Catamount win came from Kirsten Weberg who captured the gold in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:17.84. In tomorrow’s 800-meter final, Yolanda Ngarambe qualified No. 1.

Other winners on day one included Albany’s Patricia McNish who leapt her way to gold in the long jump. Elsewhere in the field, Maine’s Robyn McFetters took the hammer throw with a heave of 177’11.” On the track, Stony Brook’s Annie Keown won the 10,000-meter run with a time of 37:10.09. Boston University’s Allison Barwise leads the heptathlon competition after three events with 3220 points.

On the men’s side, Binghamton took three of the top seven spots in 10,000-meter run led by Vasili Papastrat who took fourth in 30:59.70. Jason Santos and Anthony Gaetani went 6-7 for the Bearcats. Adam Quinn and Cal Michaels also performed well in the steeplechase taking silver and bronze. Meanwhile, freshman Jesse Garn qualified No. 1 for tomorrow’s 1,500-meter final and Erik van Ingen ran the second-fastest prelim time in the 800.

Albany is primed to make a push on day two after winning three events in the field and qualifying No. 1 in a fourth on the track. Kadeem Howell defended his long jump crown leaping 23’2.75” and freshman Alexander Bowen won the high jump clearing 6’10.75.” The indoor pole vault champion Alfonso Scannapieco claimed gold clearing 16’2. 75” while Peter Rowell recorded the top prelim time in the 800.

Host Maine turned in a pair of victories on the day. David Currier won the 10,000 with a time of 30:47.66 and Wilson Adams, the indoor weight throw champion, took gold in the hammer throw.

Elsewhere, Boston University’s R.J Page broke the conference record in the 100-meter dash prelims bolting through the finish line in 10.55 seconds to set the conference standard. Vermont threw its way to the top two spots in the javelin as Sam Hoadley posted a 207’-toss to get the win while his teammate Mike Grubert took silver. And after five events in the decathlon, UMBC’s Malte Bertram leads the pack with 3,478 points.

Tomorrow’s action from Orono begins at 9 a.m. with the conclusion of the multi events. You can follow along live, here.