ORONO, Maine – The Albany men’s and
women’s track and field teams shared a championship celebration on Sunday
afternoon as the Great Danes swept the 2012 America East Outdoor Track and
Field championships at the Becket Family Track and Field Complex at the
University of Maine. This is the fourth straight year the Great Danes have
swept the outdoor titles.
The
Albany men became the first men’s team since 1998 (New Hampshire) to sweep the
cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field titles and finished with 181
points this weekend. Binghamton finished as the runner-up with 147 points and
Boston University checked in at a close third with 145.50 points. Host Maine
collected 97.50 points for fourth-place and New Hampshire placed fifth with
84.50 points. UMBC finished with 78.50 points while Vermont (56), Stony Brook
(43) and Hartford (23) round out the field.
On
the men’s side, Albany’s championship effort received a significant boost today
in the 100-meter dash. The Danes took three of the top five spots led by Donald
Williams Jr., who placed second with a time of 10.79 seconds. A day after winning
the long jump, Kadeem Howell, the Most Outstanding Field Performer, completed the
sweep of the jumping pits as he leapt to gold in the triple jump (14.73m).
Peter Rowell took silver in the 800-meter run while Chris Burke and Ethan Clary
went 2-3 in the 5,000. Albany’s 4x100 relay team also captured gold.
Binghamton,
the day one leader, collected its third straight runner-up finish behind a
pair of individual titles and a relay gold. Erik van Ingen won a thrilling race
in the 800 clocking in at 1:50.50, edging out Albany’s Rowell by .04 seconds.
Jesse Fuca took gold in the 110-meter hurdles and the Bearcats’ 4x800 relay
team edged out New Hampshire for the gold medal. Binghamton’s coaching staff
collected the men’s Coaching Staff of the Year award as voted by its peers.
Boston
University’s R.J. Page put on a show in the sprinting event taking gold in both
the 100 and 200-meter dashes. Page, the meet’s Most Outstanding Track Performer
and Coaches’ Award winner, broke his own conference
championship records in both races including a 21.21-second 200. Tewado Latty
defended his 400 crown and Stephen Vitale grabbed top honors in the 400
hurdles. Matt Paulson also won an individual championship for the Terriers,
crossing first in the 5,000.
Two
of the conference’s best throwers lived up to their reputations in the field
events. Maine’s Justin Gagne won the discus throw (51.54m) and New Hampshire’s
Brice Paey topped the shot put field (17.32m).
UMBC’s
Malte Bertram won the decathlon with 6,543 points earning the Most Outstanding
Rookie award.
The
Albany women racked up 185 points to distance themselves from runner-up Boston
University which finished with 130 points. Day one leader Binghamton collected
124.50 points and UMBC finished fourth with 105 points. Vermont placed fifth
with 90 points just ahead of New Hampshire’s 88.50 points. Host Maine (56),
Stony Brook (48) and Hartford (30) complete the scoring.
Albany’s
Patricia McNish added another gold medal to her collection with a triple jump
title to lead the Great Danes to their fourth straight championship. Albany
also won gold in the 4x800 and 4x400 relays to solidify its title effort at the
end of day two. Allison Rogers and Sherez Mohammad went 2-3 in the 400-meter
dash while Tynelle Taylor-Chase took gold in the 400-meter hurdles. Catherine
Coxon won the discus competition with a throw of 47.34 meters. Albany’s
coaching staff, led by Roberto Vives, took home the women’s Coaching Staff of
the Year Award.
Boston
University’s Allison Barwise won the heptathlon with 5,276 points to break her
own championship record, captured gold in the high jump (1.70m) and took silver
in the long jump (5.81m) to claim the Coaches’ Award and the meet’s Most
Outstanding Field Performer award. Shelby Walton won the 100-meter dash by one-hundredth
of a second in 11.83 before earning the silver medal in the 200. Rosa Moriello
also finished second in the 5,000-meter run.
Jessica
Hennig, the defending silver medalist in the 400-meter dash, highlighted
Binghamton’s day in Orono with a gold-medal performance in the same race.
Meanwhile, Kaitlin Sullivan claimed victory in the 100 hurdles with a time of
13.96 and Alexis Murray placed second in the triple jump.
UMBC
picked up two individual wins on day two as Mercedes Jackson and Amanda Deller
collected gold medals. Jackson ran a 23.80 in the 200 for gold and clocked in
at 11.84 in the 100, good for silver. The freshman also brings the Most
Outstanding Rookie trophy back to Baltimore. Deller took silver in the discus
and gold in the shot put with a winning heave of 14.81 meters.
Maine’s
Corey Conner picked up the host’s lone victory on day two as she won the 5,000-meter
run in 15:59.66 shattering the previous record of 16:19.25 set back in 2006.
Stony Brook’s Lucy Van Dalen, the Most Outstanding Track Performer winner,
broke her own championship record in the 1,500-meter run clocking in at 4:14.71
to get the gold. Vermont’s Julie McGilpin defended her 800-meter run
championship completing the two laps in 2:08.72 to round out the day two
winners.
For
more on the America East outdoor track and field championship, visit
Championship Central.