BOSTON, MASS. – This week was filled with all America East schools competing at multiple track & field events. Albany hosted their own Spring Classic and sent some competitors to Mr. SAC, Binghamton took part in the Bucknell Five-Way Meet, Hartford traveled to Holy Cross with Maine also in attendance, but the Black Bears sent part of their squad the LSU Alumni Gold Invitational. In addition, UMBC competed in the Morgan State Legacy Meet, UMass Lowell had student-athletics at their own George Davis Invitational and the Mt. Sac Relays in Walnut, California; New Hampshire sent runners to Holy Cross, Princeton and Stony Brook, the latter being the Wolfie Relay which the Seawolves hosted. Lastly, Vermont sent runners to the Mt. Sac Relay’s as well, and those who stayed on the east coast took part in the Great Danes Spring Classic.
Female Track Performer of the Week
Kahlia Taylor, Albany, Junior, Bronx, N.Y.
- Kahlia Taylor was part of three winning events for the Albany Great Danes at their own UAlbany Spring Classic.
- Taylor was part of the 4x100-meter relay team that took gold with a season best time of 46.64, a time that ranks second in the America East this year.
- The Bronx native would then sweep the sprints, winning the 100-meter (11.67), and 200-meter dash (24.89). Her 200 time ranks fifth in the conference, and second is her time in the 100.
Male Track Performer of the Week
Jon Alkins, Binghamton, Senior, Tuckahoe, N.Y.
- Jon Alkins swept both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes at the Bucknell Team Challenge.
- The senior set a new conference high record in the 200, running across the finish line in 21.40.
- The Tuckahoe, N.Y. native ran the fifth fastest conference time this season in the 100-meter, winning the race in 10.83 seconds.
Female Field Performer of the Week
Ozi Edokobi, UMBC, Freshman, Rockville, Md.
- Ozi Edokobi had a bust weekend at the Morgan State Legacy Meet. The Freshman registered two top-five finishes
- The Rockville, Md., native came in second place in the shot put with a throw of 13.96 meters, a distance that ranks top among the America East.
- In the discus throw, Edokobi took fourth place, tossing to a distance of 41.82 meters. That mark sits second in the America East.
- In addition, Edokobi did throw in the hammer event, and registered a respectable distance of 42.45 meters.
Male Field Performer of the Week
Brandon Bordeau, Binghamton, Senior, Conklin, N.Y.
- Brandon Bordeau swept both the shot put and discus toss at the Bucknell Team Challenge this past Saturday.
- Bordeau set a new America East high this season with a 55’ 1.5” toss in the shot put, surpassing the next nearest distance by over an inch. The throw breaks the program record, which was set by Pat Heikklia last season.
- With a distance of 164’ 2”, Bordeau also won the discuss toss; the distance is the second longest of his season, his best being the conference-high this season of 169’ 7”.
Female Outdoor Track & Field Notes
- Four members of the Albany women’s track & field team made their way to California for the Mt. SAC relays. On the track, the best of the Great Danes performances came from Valentina Talevi, who placed 15th in the 10,000-meter at 36:18.23. On the field, hammer-thrower Briana Cherry-Bronson placed 19th overall with a throw of 172’ 6”. Lauren Lopano won the hammer throw with a new facility record of 165’ 8”.
- Wrapping up their 31st Spring Classic, the spotlight for the Great Danes fell on Kahlia Taylor. She was part of the winning 4x100-meter relay team; she won the 100-meter dash in 11.67, and 200-meter dash in 24.89. Grace Claxton also was a winner in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:01.72, and Michelle Anthony won the 100-meter hurdles in 11.67.
- On day two in Albany, Paige Vadnias won the heptathlon, having accumulated 2,701 points.
- On the opening day of their Spring Classic, Veleshia Walker won the javelin throw (142’ 7”), breaking the school record in the process.
- Binghamton competed in the Bucknell Team Challenge, and familiar names carried the Bearcats to a second place finish. Keishorea Armstrong took home two first place finishes: the long jump in 20’ 2”, and 100-meter dash in 11.88. Alexis Murray won in the field, besting the field in the triple jump at 39’ 2.25”, and her teammate Kierra Arthur won the 100-meter hurdles with the fast pace of 14.50 second.
- At the Louisiana State University Alumni Gold Meet, Robyn McFetters represented Maine by placing sixth in the hammer throw with a toss of 52.72 meters.
- Hartford competed at the Holy Cross Invitational and was highlights by Samantha Crisafulli’s first place finish in the 800-meter. The senior finished in 2:13.69, just .16 seconds behind her own school record. The other top performances from the Hawks came from Tiffany Harrison and Merrica Modeste; Harrison took fifth in the 200-meter (26.84) and Modeste took ninth (27.00).
- In the Holy Cross Invitational, Maine placed third with 118 points, but they did come away with four No. 1 finishes. Teal Jackson won the 400-meter (56.76), Grace Laclean took the title in the 100-meter hurdles (14.65), Jaclyn Masters continued to perform well in the pole vault (3.42 meters), and Emily Boardman secured gold in the hammer throw (52.12 meters).
- On the opening day of the Morgan State Legacy Meet, Alisha Beeman won four heptathlon events for UMBC, and in the end she would take first place overall with a total of 3,342 points. Another strong individual performance came from Mercedes Jackson, who finished second in the 100-meter (11.58). The group of Jackson, Mercedes Tillman, Marie Yuille and D’Nique Phillip won the 4x100-meter relay, tying the UMBC school record of 46.19.
- On April 16th, UMass Lowell freshman Kerstin Darsney finished in third place at the 2015 Holy Cross Heptathlon at the Hart Track and Hart Turf Field.
- On April 17th, UMass Lowell senior Elisabeth Monty won the 800-meter at the Cal State LA Twilight Open with a time of 2:12.18.
- At the George Davis Invitational, it was the underclass duo of Nikayla Simpson and Aliyah Alley who won the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Simpson won the 100 in 12.34, and Alley took first in the 200 in 25.13. Other notable finishes for the River Hawks: Alexis Kitsakos took second in the 200-meter (25.32), Marissa Richard came runner-up in the 3,000-meter 10:34.54, and Celeste Pipia took second in the discuss throw with a toss of 113’ 10”.
- The New Hampshire Wildcats stole first place at the Wolfie Invitational on Saturday with 241 total points. Lauren Perrodin and Abigal Kaplan, each of whom won two individual events, led the Wildcats. Perrodin won the 100-meter dash in 12.11, and the 200-meter dash in 26.14 seconds; Kaplan dominated in the field with a winning shot put toss of 12.54 meters, and hammer throw of 41.27 meters. Some other New Hampshire competitors who won were Alyson Messina in the 400-meter hurdles (1:02.66), Andrea Turtelbaub in the javelin (39.94 meters), and Emily Wernig in discus (37.36 meters).
- The Seawolves placed second at their own Wolfie Invitational, headlined by Kaylyn Gordon once again. She won the triple jump once again in a mark of 12.08 meters, and in addition, she took the title in the long jump at 5.64 meters. Megan Liu also jumped well for Stony Brook, placing third in the long jump (5.08 meters) and second in the triple jump (11.03 meters).
- Other winners on the day for Stony Brook included freshman Courtney Warden in the 100-meter hurdles (14.59), sophomore Christine Eisenberg in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:49.18), and the quartet of Warden, Gordon, Moriah Blackman and Daneen Small won the 4x100 meter relay (48.25).
- Vermont’s Sarah Roderick entered into the California Invitational Combined Events at Azusa Pacific University and placed 21st with 2,926 points.
- At the Albany Spring Classic, the Catamount women finished with four first place marks. Dana Gaetani won the 400-meter dash, an event dominated by the Catamounts, who took three of the top four spots. Gaetani won the race in 58.57 seconds. Other winners include Anna Kaplan in the 5,000-meter run in 17:37.09, Mallory Honnan in the long jump (5.79 meters), and Grace Weisbecker in the pole vault (3.70 meters).
Male Outdoor Track & Field Notes
- On the opening day of their own Albany Spring Classic, Jonathan Eustache placed second in the men’s hammer throw, tossing it 174’ 11”, a new personal best. Eustache would win the discuss throw on day two with a toss of 152’ 2”. Other winners for the Great Danes included James Sommer winning the men’s 5,000-meter race (14:58.61), Nathan Hiett winning the men’s pole vault (15’ 11”), Eric Del Vescovo taking the men’s shot put (51’ 11”), and Youness Benzaid placing first in the 800-meter (1:54.82)
- Binghamton competed at Bucknell at Princeton over the past week, and once again Jesse Garn garnered all the attention. In New Jersey, Garn ran the 800-meter in 1:47.03, good enough for a second place finish.
- In the Bucknell Team Challenge, Brandon Bordeau performed very well in the field for the Bearcats; He took first place in the shot put (55’ 1.5”) and discuss toss (164’ 2”). Also taking first place in non-track events where Peter Fagan in the pole vault (15’ 7”) and Thaddeus Okon in the high jump (6’ 4”). On the track, Jon Alkins won both sprinting events, taking the 100-meter in 10.83, and the 200-meter in 21.40. Binghamton placed third in the event.
- For the Hartford men, Alex Peterson came in second place in the 200-meter dash (23.02), and sixth in the 100-meter (11.20). Dominc DiCarlo also took top-five finishes in the dashes: fifth in the 100-meter (11.18) and fourth in the 200-meter (23.28).
- Maine begun their week of competition at the Holy Cross Multi-Event Meet. James Rutter placed fourth in the decathlon and finished with 6,138 points; Matthew York took sixth with 6,029 points.
- In the Holy Cross Invitational, the University of Maine came in first place with 175.50 points. First place finishers included Alexander Moser in the 1,500 meter (3:59.36), Levi Frye (3,000-meter steeplechase (9:31.83), and Aybard Gungor in the javelin (58.10 meters).
- Down in Baton Rouge, La., four Black Bears competed at the 2015 Alumni Gold Meet. Jake Leithiser highlighted the day with a strong, second place finish in the 800-meter (1:49.34).
- At the Morgan State Legacy Meet, UMBC’s top performances came from the field portion. Yao Andantor placed fourth in the hammer throw (46.50) and John Ryback took third in the javelin toss (48.86 meters).
- At the Mt. SAC Relays, senior River Hawks Robert Allen clocked in a 1,500-meter race at 3:47.02, good enough for a seventh place finish at the invite-only event.
- In Long Beach, Cal., at the Beach Open, freshman Paul Hogan turned in the second fastest America East time this year in the 5,000-meter. The first year student-athlete placed seventh with a time of 14:20.58.
- There were three UMass Lowell River Hawks who took home individual wins at the annual George Davis Invitational. Cameron Mitchell won the 400-meter hurdles (53.40), setting a new facility record in the process. Gilberto Brown won the high jump, clearing the bar at 6’ 8.25”. Freshman Thomas Teachen won the 3,000-meter steeplechase, dominating the field with a closing time of 9:59.04.
- In Princeton, N.J., at the Larry Ellis Invitational, New Hampshire’s John Prizzi led the Wildcats with a fourth place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, completing the race in 8:54.91. Drew Piazza broke the UNH school record in the 800-meter run with his fifth place time of 1:48.40.
- On Saturday, the Wildcats continued to run strong, winning the Wolfie Invitational. Noted first place winners include junior Isiah Penn in the 400-meter dash (48.98), sophomore Andrew McFarland in the 400-meter hurdles (55.70), and Nicholas Ritzo in the discus toss (58.26 meters). The foursome of Thomas Harter, Christopher Poggi, Prizzi and Penn took first in the 4x400-meter relay, collectively running at a pace of 3:19.44.
- The Stony Brook Seawolves placed second out of five competing schools at their own Wolfie Invitational. Highlight performances came from Eric Speakman, who ran the 1,500-meter in 3:44.64, a winning time that was nearly 14 seconds faster than the nearest finisher. Chris Hand set new Stony Brook records in two throwing events: 56.36 in the javelin, and 55.90 in the hammer throw; Hand finished runner-up in the hammer. Other winners for the Seawolves include Matt Granata in the 800-meter (1:50.53), Mitchell Kun in the 5,000-meter (14:56.53).
- Thomas O’Leary travelled to the Mt. SAC Relays in California, and churned out the fifth-fastest outdoor time in Vermont history in the men’s 1,500-meter turn. O’Leary posted a time of 3:52.95, a personal best that placed 40th overall. Other Catamounts to perform included Mallory Duncan in the 400-meter hurdles, where he placed 13th overall (53.36) and Dan Moroney in the 10,000-meter run, finishing with the 35th fastest time (33:02.11).
- On the opening day of the Albany Spring Classic, Vermont’s Isaac de La Bruere won the men’s javelin toss with a distance of 57.65 meters. Other strong performances from the Catamounts came by way of Ian Weider, who placed second in the long jump (7.09 meters), Anderson Koenig finished third in the 400-meter (50.99), and Mickey Krug took bronze in the 400-meter hurdles (58.71).
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
April 21
- Female Track Performer of the Week: Kahlia Taylor, Albany
- Male Track Performer of the Week: Jon Alkins, Binghamton
- Female Field Performer of the Week: Keishorea Armstrong, Binghamton
- Male Field Performer of the Week: Ozi Edokobi, UMBC