CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – In the week preceding the 2015 America East Indoor Track & Field Championship, seven schools competed over the past week. The University at Albany had two events; the Millrose Games on the 12th at the NYC Armory, and the Valentine Invitational at Boston University on the 14th. Binghamton University travelled to Ithaca, New York for a non-scoring meet at Cornell University, while Hartford tagged along with Albany at BU. Maine sent runners to two events like the Great Danes; some Wildcats travelled for the Valentines Invitational on the 13th in Boston, Massachusetts, while others took part in a dual meet against the New Hampshire Wildcats on Cupid’s day. It ended up being an America East gathering at Boston University, as the River Hawks of UMass Lowell and Seawolves of Stony Brook both travelled into the snowy terrain as well for the Valetine's Invitational. Here are the week 8 America East Indoor Track & Field award winners:
Male Track Performer of the Week
Jesse Garn, Binghamton, Senior, Marcellus, New York
- Senior Jesse Garn ran the 800-meter at the Iowa State Classic this past Saturday, and clocked in a third place finish at 1:46.98. The only runners to best the senior’s pace were Edward Kemboi and Andres Arroyo, who’s times rank top two in the country at 1:46.09 and 1:46.78 respectively.
- Garn’s performance in the event ranks fifth in the nation.
- The Marcellus, New York native improved upon the time he set last week at the Penn State Sykes/Sabock Challenge, when he clocked in the then 13th fastest NCAA time at 1:49.68.
- This is the second consecutive week that Garn has been named the America East Male Track Athlete of the Week.
Male Field Performer of the Week
Jonathan Eustache, Albany, Sophomore, Rosedale, New York
- Jonathan Eustache set a new personal best at the Millrose Games, throwing his weight 63’ 9.75”. Eustache finished third in the event, and set a new America East high with his throw.
- At the Valentine’s Invitational in Boston, the sophomore Rosedale, New York native took home tenth with a toss of 56’ 3.75”.
Female Track Performer of the Week
Taelour Murphy, UMass Lowell, Senior, Salisbury, Massachusetts
- Taelour Murphy ran the 200-meter dash at the Boston University David Henry Invitational, finishing second out of a field of 230 competitors.
- Murphy’s time of 23.93 was just three-tenths of a second behind the winner of the race, Gabrielle Farquharson of Rutgers.
- The Salisbury, Massachusetts native set a new conference best time for this season, edging out UMBC’s Mercedes Jackson’s time of 24.19 that she set on January 30th in the Penn State National Invitational.
- The River Hawk sprinter’s time currently resides as the 54th fastest in the country. Her pace also was just two-tenths of a second off of her own school record of 23.71.
Female Field Performer of the Week
Briana Cherry-Bronson, Albany, Graduate, Naples, Florida
- Briana Cherry-Bronson first competed at the Millrose Games and placed second in the weight throw with a mark of 64’ 1.75”, tying her second best throw of the season.
- At the Valentine Invitational hosted by Boston University, Cherry-Bronson claimed victory, breaking her own school record, and besting her season/conference high distance with a throw of 65’ 6.25”.
- Cherry Bronson’s conference leading distance ranks 27th in the nation, and bests anyone in the America East by nearly ten feet.
Male Indoor Track & Field Notes
- Albany’s Jonathan Eustache was invited to the opening day of the Millrose Games at the Armory, and there he set a new personal best in the weight throw with a toss of 63’ 1.75”, placing him third in the event.
- The Great Danes competed at the Valentine Invitational, and had several standouts to note. Junior Taariq Jones placed seventh in the 400-meter with a time of 47.71, and in the field, sophomore Nathan Hiett took fourth in the pole vault, clearing a height of 16’ 0.75”. In addition, Sophomore Jordan Crump-Kings finished in seventh in the triple jump, landing a total of 48 feet.
- Binghamton had one first place finisher at the Cornell/Sunday Invitational. Junior Joe Miceli won the pole vault, launching to a height of 16’ 4.75”, and teammate, sophomore Peter Fagan finished in second.
- Binghamton senior Jesse Garn travelled to Iowa City, Iowa and entered the national indoor track radar at the the Iowa State Classic. Garn finished third in the 800-meter, running the event with the fifth fastest time at 1:46.98. This marked an improvement from his performance at last week’s Sykes/Sabock Challenge when he finished the race in 1:49.68, then the 13th fastest time in the country.
- The Hawks of Hartford were led by freshmen Brian Calderaro, Evan Jaworski, and Kyle Lopes. Calderaro set a new personal best in the 500-meter, finishing the race in 1:08.19; Jaworski and Lopes both set personal bests in the 800-meter, clocking in time of 2:02.22 and 2:03.07 respectively. Junior Chris Helminski finished the mile run in 4:24.03.
- The Black Bears men’s squad was split between the Valentine Invitational in Boston and a dual meet at home in Orono against New Hampshire. In Boston, the top Maine competitor was Scott Merill, who came in 23rd overall in the 500-meter with a time of 1:05.51.
- In the dual meet against the Wildcats, numerous first place victories propelled Maine to the victory. The field was the Black Bears true stomping ground: James Rutter took the pole vault (13’ 6.25”), Herby Lafortune won the long jump (21’ 5.50”), Tyler Martin was fist in the high jump (6’ 4.25”), and Connor Harris led the Maine sweep in the jumping events with a 42’ 10.75” triple jump.
- UMass Lowell had many competitors shine at the Valentine Invitational. Competing against 200 other runners, junior Tunde Ogunleye placed tenth in the 400-meters with a personal best time of 47.82 seconds. The freshmen tandem of Paul Hogan and Dhahran Velasquez set personal bests in the mile run, finishing in 4:11.07 and 4:16.29. Sophomore Gilberto Brown took fifth in the high jump (6’ 6.75”) and senior Patrick Greaney took ninth in the long jump (22’ 7.25”).
- The New Hampshire Wildcats split their team between the Valentine Invitational in Boston, Mass., and a dual meet against Maine in Orono, Maine. At Boston University’s complex, Junior D’mahl McFadden finished 16th in the 60-meter hurdles with a final time of 8.43 seconds. Sophomore Drew Piazza came in third out of 206 competing runners in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:48.95.
- Against the Black Bears, the Wildcats lost by just three points. New Hampshire had strong performances from Junior Thomas Lynch, freshman Joseph Verro, sophomore Ross Hardy, and senior Steven Souza. Lynch won the weight throw with a distance of 14.75 meters; Verro paced the mile in 4:24.01; Hardy led the 400-meter dash in 51.02; and Souza won the 800-meter in 1:57.65.
- Stony Brook University also took part in the massive Valentine Invitational. The Seawolves had Lamar Hayes finish 11th in the long jump, recording a distance of 6.81 meters. Hayes also performed well in the 60-meter dash, placing 21st. Amazan Bradley finished 31st in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:54.03.
Female Indoor Track & Field Notes
- Briana Cherry-Bronson and Chinwe Igwe of UAlbany both took part in the weight toss portion of the Millrose Games at the Armory. Cherry-Bronson placed second out of nine competitors, throwing her weight 64’ 1.75”. Her teammate Igwe finished in ninth with a mark of 50’ 5.25.”
- At the Valentine Invitational at Boston University, Cherry-Bronson won the weight-throwing event, besting her personal best with a new record of 65’ 6.25”. The highlights of the track portion for the Great Danes includes Michelle Anthony finishing in fourth in the 60-meter hurdles (8.57), and Halie Snyder placing 11th in the 400-meter with a new collegiate best of 56.18 seconds.
- The Bearcats faired very well at the Cornell Invitational this past Sunday. The underclassmen duo of Keishorea Armstrong and Brooke Bonney won the triple jump (39’ 7.25”) and weight throw (52’ 10.75”) respectively. Junior Tori Shaffer leapt to first in the high jump (5’ 7”), and Binghamton added runner up finishes in the 60-meter hurdles (8.84) and 60-meter dash (7.52) by Kiki Arthur and Armstrong.
- Junior Maggie Fuller and senior Merrica Modeste highlighted the Hartford Hawks participation at the BU Valentine Invite. Fuller set two personal bests; in the high jump (1.60 meters) and 60-meter hurdles, where she landed less than half a second behind her teammate Lauren Bossi (10.04). Modeste posted a career best time in the 400-meter, finishing the event in 1:01.29.
- The Maine Black Bears fell to the Wildcats in a dual meet held in Orono, 99-56. Synclaire Tasker took first place in the triple jump with a score of 34’ 8.24”. Another freshmen in Grace Macura took the top-hnors in the 400-meter race in 59.81. Black Bears had two second place finishes in the field: Kayla Marquis in the pole vault (9’ 6.25”), and Alexis Wessels in the shot put (34’ 5.00”).
- Senior Taelour Murphy carried the River Hawks at the Boston University Track and Tennis Center. In the 200-meter race, competing against over 200 other runners, Murphy finished in second, crossing the line at 23.93. Another UMass Lowell highlight was freshman Marissa Richards setting a personal best time in the mile (5:16.50)
- New Hampshire dispatched Maine in their dual meet to a score of 99 to 56. First place finishes in the field included Abigail Kaplan in the weight throw (14.01 meters) and shot put (11.87 meters), Kari Murnane in the pole vault (3.05 meters), Emma Checovich in the long jump (5.12 meters), and Rachel Morrison in the high jump (1.67 meters). Some of the first place track runners included sophomore Alexandria Giese in the mile (5:19.04), Virginia Lavallee in the 60-meter hurdles (9.04), and Lauren Perrodin, who won the 60-meter dash (7.75) and 200-meter dash (26.11).
- At the Valentine Invitational, Seawolves, Tiana Guevara and Christine Eisenberg performed well in the 1000-meter run. Guevara ran the event in 2:57.55, and Eisenberg with a time of 2:58.83. Kaylyn Gordon jumped to a length of 5.66 meters in the long jump, and Gordon also performed well in the triple jump with a score of 12.03 meters.
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
Jan. 27
Male Track Performer of the Week: Jason Tomlinson, Albany
Co-Male Field Performer of the Week: Matthew Campbell, Albany
Co-Male Field Performer of the Week: Alexander Bowen Jr., Albany
Female Track Performer of the Week: Grace Claxton, Albany
Female Field Performer of the Week: Christy DiMichele, Binghamton
Feb. 3
Male Track Performer of the Week: Drew Piazza, New Hampshire
Female Track Performer of the Week: Christina Melian, Stony Brook
Male Field Performer of the Week: Yao Adantor, UMBC
Female Field Performer of the Week: Briana Cherry-Bronson, Albany
Feb. 10
Male Track Performer of the Week: Jesse Garn, Binghamton
Female Track Performer of the Week: Mercedes Jackson, UMBC
Male Field Performer of the Week: Michael Shanahan, New Hampshire
Female Field Performer of the Week: Grace Weisbecker, Vermont
Feb. 17
Male Track Performer of the Week: Jesse Garn, Binghamton
Female Track Performer of the Week: Taelour Murphy, UMass Lowell
Male Field Performer of the Week: Jonathan Eustache, Albany
Female Field Performer of the Week: Briana Cherry-Bronson, Albany