CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Eight America East schools took to the track this past week. Albany and Binghamton travelled to University Park, Pennsylvania to take part in the Nittany Lion Challenge; Maine competed against Big Green, Colgate and fellow America East school Vermont in Hanover, N.H.; UMBC competed in the Terrapin Invitational; UMass Lowell trekked to Medford, Mass. For the Tufts Invitational; new Hampshire hosted Holy Cross; and Stony brook ran in the NYC Gotham Cup.
Male Track Performer of the Week
Kevin Greene, New Hampshire, Senior, Silver Springs, Maryland
- Kevin Greene was a key instrument in New Hampshire’s victory in their dual meet against Holy Cross. Greene won both the 1000 meter (2:28.33) and the one mile race (4:05.93).
- Greene’s time in the 1000m (2:28.33) is the second best among all America East runners this year, but the senior’s mile time is the best in the conference. Greene’s 4:05.93 pace is nearly five full seconds better than UMass Lowell’s Robert Allen who had set the new conference high last week.
- Greene’s mile time ranks tenth in the nation, and his mark in the 1000m ranks in the top 50 of the country.
Male Field Performer of the Week
Martin Kallur, Vermont, Junior, Falun, Sweden
- Martin Kallur broke Vermont’s school record in the heptathlon at the Harvard Multi-Team Event and won the event by eight points. Kallur’s broke Ed Simon’s record of 4,936 points, which was set just last February.
- Kallur’s 5229 points is also a highest among all America East competitors thus far this season.
- In route to winning, Kallur finished second in the 60 meter dash (7.14) and the long jump (6.85), and took first in the 60m hurdles (8.18) and pole vault (4.70).
- Kallur’s distance for the long jump sits third in the America East this year, and his time in the 60m hurdles is tops among conference.
Female Track Performer of the Week
Grace Claxton, Albany, Junior, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Grace Claxton set a new America East season high, and Albany school record with her time of 55.07 in the 400 meter. The junior surpassed the previous mark of 55.19 set by Allison Rodgers in 2012.
- The junior’s time is the best in the America East this season by over a second compared to the number two in the conference, is Paulette Fogle of UMBC (56.66)
- Claxton won the 400 meter at the Nittany Lion Challenge, edging out the second place finisher by 15 hundredths of a second.
Female Field Performer of the Week
Briana Cherry-Bronson, Albany, Graduate, Naples, Florida
- Briana Cherry-Bronson set a new school record in the weight throw recording a distance of 64’ 1.25.” Cherry-Bronson bested the previous mark of 59’ 1.5” set by Kadine Johnson in 2011.
- The graduate’s mark is also the longest this year registered by America East competitors. Cherry Bronson’s throw is nearly ten inches better than the number two rank, which was set by fellow Great Dane Chinwe Igwe (55” 8.25”)
- Cherry-Bronson placed third overall in the weight throw at the Nittany Lion Challenge at University Park, Pennsylvania.
Male Indoor Track & Field Notes
- The University at Albany took to the track for the first time in 2015 in the Penn State Nittany Lion Challenge. Highlights for the Great Danes are John DeLallo who placed four in the mile (4:10.85), Devon Willis took third in the 60 meter hurdles (8.46), and Jonathan Eustache setting a new personal best weight throw 57’ 3.75.”
- Binghamton also competed in the Nittany Lion Challenge and were led by three individual performances. Junior Joe Mecili and sophomore Peter Fagan tied atop to win the pole vault (15’ 7”), and teammate Brandon Bordeau and Jess Garn each broke school records. Bordeau finished third in the shot put, throwing 54’ 3.5”, and Jesse Garn took second in the 1000 meters and ran the race in 2:21.19.
- Maine travelled to Hanover, New Hampshire to take on Colgate, Dartmouth, and Vermont. The men placed second among the four competitors. Wilson Adams won the weight throw with a final mark of 59’ 3.5”, and Devin Burgess took the pole vault with a height of 15’ 3”. Joseph Viola registered another top place finish when he clocked in at 49.76 for the 400m. Black Bears also came out on top in the 4x400 relay with the quartet of Michael Lucas, Andrew Toothaker, Scott Merril and Viola.
- UMBC took park in the Terrapin Invitational in Landover, Maryland. In the 400 meter dash, the Retrievers took four out of the top five spots, with the highest placed being Erick Soetje who placed second in 50.28. James Oakley III took home second in the 200 meter dash (22.69), and Austin Hayslett finished third in the 5000m (15:26.17) The highlight on the field side was Yao Adantor who tossed 16.98 in the shot put, beating out the previous school record on 16.88.
- UMass Lowell came out victorious at Tufts, topping the 14 team field with 160 points. Freshman Richard Mulo won the 60 meter dash in 7.02, and placed second in the 200m at 22.92. Wrapping up the track events, sophomore Michael Kalenoski won the 800 meter in 2:00.16, and the team’s 4x800 meter relay, which consisted of Zachary Nelson, John Abraham, William Donlon, and Connor Habib, came in first at 8:5.76.
- For the Riverhawks field portion, sophomore John Fiorello won the shot put (51’ 10”), and junior Oluwatoni Onikeku cleared 6’ 8” in the high jump to claim first place. In addition, senior Garry King won the pole vault, clearing 14’ 11.”
- New Hampshire hosted Holy Cross in a dual meet and came out on top in all of the running events. Highlighting some of the major players in thee track portion: Junior D’mahl McFadden 200m dash (23.28), and 55m hurdles (7.88); Christopher Poggi took the 400m (51.22), Drew Piazza ran the 800m in top time (1:54.50). On the field, Joel Nkounkou took first place in the long jump (20’ 1”) and triple jump (55’ 1.50”).
- Stony Brook travelled to New York, New York for the NYC Gotham Cup, and among the highlights of the Seawolves are Chris Hand who finished third in the weight throw, and the team for four for the distance relay. Alex Lopresti, Bradley Amazon, Thomas Wimmers and Michael Watts teamed up to take the top spot in 10:19.78.
- The Vermont Catamounts as a team travelled to Hanover, New Hampshire where they placed third out of four teams. Romario Bailey and Nick DeLuna, both first in their respective events, the 60 meter dash (6.97), 800 meter (2:00.58). The 4x800 meter relay team of Thomas O’Leary, Aaron Anderstrom, Dan DeLuna, and Oliver Scofield claimed victory (8:13.73).
- The outlier for the Catamounts is Martin Kallur who took part in the Harvard Multi-Team Meet Heptathon. Kallur set a new school record with 5,229 points, a mark which ranks a top the America East at the moment. Kallur was able to make the victory happen by finishing second in the 60 meter dash and long jump, and taking first place in the 60 meter hurdles and pole vault.
Female Indoor Track & Field Notes
- The University at Albany took to the track for the first time in 2015 in the Penn State Nittany Lion Challenge. Grace Claxton and Briana Cherry-Bronson set new records in the 400 meter and weight throw respectively. Claxton won the 400 in 55.07, and Cherry-Bronson placed third overall at the Challenge in the weight throw but set a new school record with a toss of 64’ 1.25”. Other highlights include Dominique Claudio who placed third in the 800 with a new personal best of 2:12.58, and Janice Johnson who took fourth in the women’s shot put with a mark of 43’ 7.25”, a new personal indoor best.
- Binghamton University also headed down to University Park, Pennsylvania. Sophomore Keishorea Armstrong finished second in the 60 meter at 7.63 and senior Christy DiMichele was the runner up in the pole vault 12’ 2.5”. Other top finishers for the Bearcats include Alexis Murray who took third in the long jump (18’ 4.5”) and Sarah Haley came in fourth in the pole vault (11’ 8.5”)
- Maine travelled to Hanover, New Hampshire to take on Colgate, Dartmouth, and Vermont. Grace MacLean finished first in the long jump at 5.27 meters, and she also sat atop on the 60 meter hurdles time with a time of 9.02. MacLean also added a third place finish in the high jump (5.5) Emily Boardman bested everyone in the weight throw with a throw of 51’ 7.75”, and Ashley Donohoe impressed in the shot put, taking first place (39’ 11.50”)
- UMBC travelled to Landover, Maryland for the Terrapin Invitational, and two Retrievers came home with individual victories. Julie Gessler took home the 5000m in 17:42.90, and Paulette Fogle won the 400m dash in 57.41. The 4x400 relay squad made up of Folge, Kalane Abbey, Funmi Daramola and Briana Young took second place (3:54.58). Spring specialist Mercedes Jackson took second in the 60 meter dash in 7.61.
- UMass Lowell was in Medford, Massachusetts on the campus of Tufts for their meet. The River Hawks took three first place finishes home. Senior Taelour Murphy won the 60 meter dash in 7.86, the second consecutive week she has won the event. Freshman Kathryn Loughnane won the 800 meters in 2:24.32. The field victory came from Junior Alana Kelley who cleared the high jump at 5’ 3.75”.
- River Hawk Freshman Kerstin Darsney was not with her teammates, she acutally competed in the pentathlon at the Harvard Multi-Meet and Beantown Challenge. Darnsey finished with 3,471 points, good enough for the third most in UMass Lowell History. She won the high jump (5’ 6.5”) and long jump (17’ 9.5”).
- New Hampshire battled against Holy Cross, and despite winning nine events, the Wildcats fell short of the Crusaders. Among the highlights for the Wildcats are Anne Twomnly who won the 800m (2:15.47) and 3000m (10:15.49). New Hampshire took the top two spots in the mile and 1000 m run with Junior Cassie Kruse taking the ladder and Laura Rose Donegan paced the cats in the mile. In the field, Jessica Salley came out on top in the high jump (1.64m), and Abigal Kaplan won the shot put (38’ 7.75”) and weight throw (45’ 1.75”).
- Stony Brook battled at the Armory Track & Field Center at the NYC Gotham Cup. Christina Melian finished first among collegiate runners in the 3000 meter run with a personal best time of 9:30.50. Other notable finishes are Elizabeth Caldwell placing sixth in the 3000 meter (10:02.56) and Tara Peck seventh (10:16.06).
- Vermont competed against Colgate, Dartmouth and conference rival Maine in Hanover, N.H. Three ladies registered second place finishes in the field: Grace Weisbecker in the pole vault (3.6m), Cassie Marion in the triple jump (11.25m), and Sara Roderick (11.93m). The women 4x800 meter relay team came out victorious with the quartet of Alicia Clark, Julie Richer, Amber Peirsol and Laura Dissly (10:01.74).
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Weekly Awards
Dec. 9
Male Track Performer of the Week: Christopher Poggi, New Hampshire
Male Field Performer of the Week: Alfonso Scannapieco, Albany
Female Track Performer of the Week: Mercedes Jackson, UMBC
Female Field Performer of the Week: Grace Weisbecker, Vermont
Dec. 16
Male Track Performer of the Week: Marcus Duncan, UMass Lowell
Male Field Performer of the Week: Michael Shanahan, New Hampshire
Female Track Performer of the Week: Anne Twombly, New Hampshire
Female Field Performer of the Week: Jessica Salley, New Hampshire
Jan. 13
Male Track Performer of the Week: Robert Allen, UMass Lowell
Male Field Performer of the Week: Joe Miceli, Binghamton
Female Track Performer of the Week: Mercedes Jackson, UMBC
Co-Female Field Performer of the Week: Kerstin, Darsney, UMass Lowell
Co-Female Field Performer of the Week: Alexis Murray, Binghamton
Jan. 20
Male Track Performer of the Week: Kevin Greene, New Hampshire
Male Field Performer of the Week: Martin Kallur, Vermont
Female Track Performer of the Week: Grace Claxton, Albany
Female Field Performer of the Week: Briana Cherry-Bronson, Albany