BOSTON, MASS. – The University at Albany competed in Storrs, Connecticut at the Northeast Challenge; Binghamton competes at the Bucknell Outdoor Classic; Hartford ran at the UMass Minutemen Invitational; Maine and UNH competed at the UNH Wildcat Invitational; UMBC took their talents to the Mason Spring Invitational in Fairfax, Virginia; UMass Lowell took their talents to Brown University; the Seawolves competed in the Providence Invitational Friday and in the Brown Invitational Saturday; Vermont travelled to Princeton, New Jersey for a quad meet.
Here are the America East Outdoor Track & Field Performers for the past week:
Female Track Performer of the Week
Mercedes Jackson, UMBC, Senior, Huntington, Maryland
- Mercedes Jackson came in second place in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, setting new America East highs this season in each event. Jackson finished the 100-meter in 11.56 seconds, a time that currently sits within the top thirty of the nation. The 200-meter was completed in 24.17 seconds, just 0.10 seconds off the lead.
Male Track Performer of the Week
Jesse Garn, Binghamton, Senior, Marcellus, New York
- Jesse Garn placed second in the 1,500-meter race at the Bucknell Outdoor Classic, finishing with a season best time of 3:43.72.
- The senior’s time ranks top among the conference, and currently resides at number 12 nationally, and atop the America East ranks.
Female Field Performer of the Week
Keishorea Armstrong, Binghamton, Sophomore, Chatham, New York
- At the Bison Invitational, Keishorea Armstrong won the triple jump with a combined distance of 41’ 9.5”, breaking the school record set by five-time NCAA Division III national champion Monique Hacker in 1998.
- Armstrong’s distance ranks top among the America East, and as of April 13th, it sits at fourteenth nationally.
Male Field Performer of the Week
Vincent Rentzsch, UMBC, Sophomore, Oranienburg, Germany
- Vincent Rentzsch won the javelin toss at the Mason Spring Invitational in Fairfax, Virginia. The German native made a throw that travelled 70.36 meters, just short of his personal and season best 70. 82 meters.
- The sophomore’s toss would rank inside the top twenty nationally.
Female Outdoor Track & Field Notes
- The University at Albany took second place at Connecticut’s Northeast Challenge, scoring a total of 209 points. Briana Cherry-Bronson placed second in the women’s hammer throw (179’ 8”), and Veleisha Walker won the javelin in 136’ 6”. Janice Johnson won the shot put in 44’, and in the jumping events, Alexx Baum placed second in the long jump, wing-aided at 19’ 8.25”.
- On the track, the Great Danes were carried well by Schuyler Pruyn who scored second in the women’s 1,500-meter (4:41.15), and Michelle Anthony who won the 100-meter hurdles (13.99) in a time that currently sits atop the conference ranks. Valentia Talevi won the 5,000-meter, crossing the finish line at 17:40.11.
- Sophomore Keishorea Armstrong catapulted the Binghamton Bearcats; she won the triple jump with a distance of 41’ 9.5”, setting a new America East high for this season, and placing herself in the top 15 nationally. Armstrong also came in third in the 200-meter in 24.33 seconds. Another notable finish for the women was Alexis Murray taking sixth in the triple jump with a respectable leap of 37’ 9.75”.
- Senior Sam Crisafulli finished with the top performance for the Hartford Hawks, crushing the six-year old school record in the 1,500-meter race. She finished in 4:36.30, placing fourth in the event. Adding in, Tiffany Harrison and Merrica Modeste ran well in the 200-meter dash, clocking in at 26.87 and 27.05, placing ninth and tenth respectfully.
- Robyn McFetters led the University of Maine; she won once against in the hammer throw with a toss of 53.43 meters. Ashley Donohoe won the discus toss (43.13 meters), and Synclaire Tasker took the triple jump (10.40 meters). Also of note, the Black Bears took first place in the 4x400-meter relay with the quartet of Teal Jackson, Grace Macura, Kaitlin Saulter, and Shannon O’Neil.
- The Retrievers of UMBC flew across the finish line in numerous events, including Mercedes Jackson coming in second in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dash; finishing in 11.56 and 24.17 seconds. Sophia Cologer and Julie Gessler finished fifth and sixth in the 5,000-meter run, crossing the tape in 17:29.48 and 17:36.80. In the 100-meter hurdles, Paulette Fogle earned a second place finish, clockin in a 1:00.03. On the field, Ozi and Nneoma Edokobi performed well in the shot put, throwing distances of 13.70 and 13.41 meters.
- UMass Lowell performed at the Brown University Invitational, and senior Taelour Murphy and graduate Elisabeth Monty performed very well for the River Hawks. Murphy won both the 100-meter (12.06) and 200-meter (25.54), and junior Alexis Kitsakos finished second in 26.15 seconds. Monty cruised to an 800-meter victory, crossing the mark at 2:13.98; and she also was part of the second place 4x400-meter relay team.
- Hosting their own event in Durham, New Hampshire, the Wildcats a total of ten first place finishes at the Reggie Atkins Track & Field Facility. Junior Lauren Perrodin earned the top spot in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash with times of 12.04 and 25.92 seconds times. She was also a member of the 4x100 meter relay team that came in second place. On the field, senior Jessica Salley won the high jump with a height of 1.67 meters, and the Wildcats took the top five spots in the long jump, led by Emma Checovich with a 5.26-meter distance.
- Over the past week, the Stony Brook University Seawolves competed at both the Friar Invitational and Brown Invitational. For the second straight week, the team of Courtney Warden, Shi-Anne Humes, Daneen Small, and Kaylyn Gordon, and Moriah Blackman teamed to finish in 47.81 seconds. In the 100-meter dash, Humes won in 12.57 seconds, and sophomore Elizabeth Caldwell won the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 11:04.58.
- At the Brown Invitational, Gordon won the long jump in 5.61-meter fashion, and Warden took first in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.40 seconds. Freshman Talia Guevara was the winner in the mile, pacing at 5:12.16.
- The University of Vermont saw their Grace Weisbecker break the outdoor women’s pole vault school record; she posted a clearing of 3.80 meter, which matches her own indoor track & field record. Alicia Clark took third in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:15.15. Mallory Honan took third in the long jump at 5.53 meters, and Cassie Marion just missed capturing the triple jump with a total distance of 11.38 meters.
Male Outdoor Track & Field Notes
- The University at Albany competed in Storrs, Conn. and took second place among five competing schools. Individual track winners for the Great Danes included freshman Kyle Gronostaj in the 5,000-meter (15:02.05), junior James Sommer in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:23.50) and the foursome of Taarig Jones, Jason Tomlinson, Jeremiah Obeng-Agyapong, and Sobaan took the 4x400-meter relay. (3:23.59). In the field, the Purple and Gold were held high by Matthew Campbell in the high jump (6’10.75”), and Jonathan Eustache in the discus throw (160”0’).
- Binghamton travelled to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania for the Bucknell Outdoor Classic and was carried forward by Jesse Garn, who placed second in the 1,500-meter race with a time of 3:43.72. His time ranks 12th in the nation as of April 13th.
- On the campus of UMass Amherst at the Minutemen Invitational, Alex Peterson and Dom DiCarlo each placed in the top ten in both the 100-meter and 200-meter races. Paterson won the seventh place spot in both sprints, in the times of 11.23 and 22.79, and DiCarlo took eighth in the 100 (11.27) and tenth in the 200 (23.15). Chris Helminski won second place in the 5,000-meters with a respectable time of 15:20.37.
- The men’s Maine Black Bears track & field team came home with nine first place finishes from the UNH Wildcat Invitational. Alexander Parenteau won the javelin (58.22 meters), and joining him atop the pedestal in the field were Adam Lufkin in the discus throw (42.0 meters), Assad Hicks in the high jump (1.95 meters), and Julian Hubbard in the triple jump (14.36 meters). Some of the individual winners on the track were Levi Frye in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:58.25), Jake Leithiser in the 800-meter (1:54.02), and 400-meter hurdles (56.94).
- This past week UMBC competed in the Mason Spring Invitational in Fairfax, Virginia. In the 100-meter dash, Daryian Miles and Afees Abolurin finished seventh and eighth respectably in the 100-meter dash. Jon Luckin took second in the 5,000-meter run in a time of 14:37.55. On the field, Yao Andtor placed third in the shot put (16.34 meters), and Vincent Rentzch continued to preform well in the javelin toss, throwing a winning distance of 70.36 meters.
- UMass Lowell had two individual first place finishers at the Brown University Invitational. Senior Richard Kirby won the 400-meter hurdles, crossing the finish line in 54.56 seconds, and freshman Dhahran Velasquez won the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 10:1.85, a pace that was nearly ten seconds ahead of the runner up.
- On their home turf, the New Hampshire Wildcats saw numerous first place finishes. Leading the pact was junior D’mahl McFadden, who placed first in the 200-meter (22.19), 110-meter hurdles (14.71), and as a member of the winning 4x100-meter relay team. Senior John Prizzi won the 1,500-meter run in 4:04.95, and Isaiah Penn won the 400-meter dash in 50.60, just eight hundredths of a second ahead of teammate Drew Piazza.
- In the field, freshman Nicholas Ritzo was awarded the top medal in the shot put toss, hurling a distance of 14.25 meters, and on his final attempt, senior Jake Renaud won the hammer throw with a length of 12.25 meters, Bryan Morris also took home first in the pole vault with a 4.26 meter leap.
- Stony Brook had two meets on back-to-back days, and at the Friars Invite, Daniel Dennis tallied a personal best time of 14:23.56 in the 5,000-meter. Junior Lamar Hayes won the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.16 seconds, and was first in the 200-meter as well in 22.93.
- At the Brown Invitational, senior Tyler Frigge placed first in the 3,000-meter with a time of 8:25.46, and Hayes was the runner-up in the long jump at 6.73 meters and 200-meter dash in 22.43 seconds. Junior Alex Lopresti took second in the 800-meter dash at 1:55.28.
- The Vermont Catamounts competed at Princeton and the highlight for the catamounts came from Thomas O’Leary; he won the 1,500-meter run in 3:56.96. Mallory Duncan won the second fastest time in the 400-meter at 54.19, and Aaron Anderstrom came runner-up in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:43.93.
Weekly Awards
March 31
- Female Track Performer of the Week: Mercedes Jackson, UMBC
- Male Track Performer of the Week: Eric Speakman, Stony Brook
- Field Performer of the Week: Alysson Laporte, Stony Brook
- Male Field Performer of the Week: Michael Shanahan, New Hampshire
April 7
- Female Track Performer of the Week: Mercedes Jackson, UMBC
- Male Track Performer of the Week: Drew Piazza, New Hampshire
- Female Field Performer of the Week: Kaylyn Gordon, Stony Brook
- Male Field Performer of the Week: Brandon Bordeau, Binghamton
April 14
- Female Track Performer of the Week: Mercedes Jackson, UMBC
- Male Track Performer of the Week: Jesse Garn, Binghamton
- Female Field Performer of the Week: Keishorea Armstrong, Binghamton
- Male Field Performer of the Week: Vincent Rentzsch, UMBC