BOSTON, Mass. – In the final week of tune up before the 2015 America East Outdoor Track & Field Championship, schools throughout the conference we looking to hone their skills in preparation for the climax of the season in Albany. The Great Danes themselves had competitors at the Penn Relays and Capital District Classic. Joining Albany in Pennsylvania was Hartford, Maine, UMBC, UMass Lowell, New Hampshire, and Stony Brook. Binghamton travelled to Ithaca, N.Y. once again to race at Cornell in the Big Red Invitational. A few Black Bears, River Hawks, and Wildcats joined Vermont and ran at the UMass Pre-Conference Meet. Here are the final America East outdoor track & field performers of the week:
Female Track Performer of the Week
Grace Claxton, Albany, Junior, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Grace Claxton ran at the Penn Relays, placing third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 58.52 seconds. It was only her third time ever running the event.
- Her time breaks her personal best, which was previously 1:01.50, and in addition she broke the Great Danes school record which was 58.89, set back in 2009 by Kamilah McShine. Her time also sits atop the America East, and ranks 26th nationally heading into the conference championship this upcoming weekend.
- She also was the anchored the second place 4x400-meter relay team at the ECAC final, leading her foursome to a season best time of 3:42.89.
Male Track Performer of the Week
James Sommer, Albany, Junior, Massapequa, New York
- Racing at the Penn Relays, James Sommer placed fifth in the Olympic development 3,000-meter steeplechase, finishing in 9:12.30.
- Sommer’s time ranks second in the America East this season., behind only New Hampshire’s John Prizzi.
Female Field Performer of the Week
Robyn McFetters, Maine, Senior, Barrington, Rhode Island
- Robyn McFetters finished second overall at the Penn Relays, hurling her hammer an impressive 60.50 meters. The distance is a new America East record for this season, and it currently sits within the top thirty nationally.
Male Field Performer of the Week
Vincent Rentzsch, UMBC, Junior, Oranienburg, Germany
- On the Penn Relays stage, Vincent Rentzsch continued his success in the javelin toss, setting new school record and placing fourth overall with a toss of 71.21 meters.
- The German native now ranks atop the America East in his event by nearly 20 meters, and he sits 17th nationally with his latest throwing effort.
Female Outdoor Track & Field Notes
- The University at Albany began competition at the Penn Relays Carnival on Thursday, and Grace Claxton led the charge for the Great Danes. The junior placed third overall with a time of 58.52 seconds, setting a school record. Other notable finishes for the Great Danes on the opening day included Janice Johnson placing 12th in the shot put, recording a personal best of 45’ 5”; Aiyanna James competed in the long jump and took 13th, measuring a mark of 18’ 4.25”.
- In the second day of the event, Valeisha Walker placed sixth in the college division of the women’s javelin toss with a recorded distance of 143’ 8”. Alexx Baum placed fourth in the triple jump, recording a combined distance of 40’ 11.75”. In the 4x100-meter relay, Kahlia Taylor, Chanel Smith, Taahira Butterfield, and Claxton placed second over all, running a season best time of 46.50 seconds.
- On the final day of the Penn Relays, Albany performed very well in the 4x400-meter relay; Kamilah Williams, Anderinsola Ajala, Halie Snyder and Claxton placed second in the race, crossing the finish line at 3:42.89.
- In the team’s final tune-up before the conference championship, Albany took part of their squad to RPO for the Capital District Classic. Briana Cherry-Bronson won the women’s hammer in 175’, and teammate Lauren Lapono had tow runner-up finishes, one being
- The final tune up for Binghamton took place at the Cornell Big Red, where the Bearcats had three individuals place in the top three of their respective events. Lauren Miller finished second in the javelin, tossig a distance of 123’ 3”, Christy DiMichele took third in the pole vault at 11’ 11.75”, and Oyin Adewale was bronze in the shot put (39’ 5.25”).
- Lauren Bossi carried the torch for Hartford at the Penn Relays, compiling 3,898 total points in the two-day heptathlon, good enough for 11th overall. In the process of those seven events, she clocked in two personal best performances in the 100-meter (15.85) and 200-meter dash (27.50).
- Hartford took part in the Brown Springtime Invitational on Sunday, and the spotlight shown brightest one rookie Shania Homiski, who turned in a personal best 33.62-meter throw in the javelin, placing her fourth overall. Savannah Brown had two top ten finishes in her field events, fifth in the triple jump (10.42 meters), and seventh in the long jump (4.47 meters).
- Maine competed at the Penn Relays, and Robyn McFetters made the most of it. The senior placed second in the hammer throw, throwing a distance of 60.50 meters. Other notable field competitor Jaclyn Masters placed twelfth in the pole vault (3.50 meters).
- Black Bears continued their championship prep at the UMass Pre-Conference Meet in Amherst, Mass. Ashley Donohoe placed first in the discus throw (43.21 meters), and second in the shot put (12.01 meters).
- Paulette Fogle kicked of UMBC’s appearance at the Penn Relays placing 15th in the 400-meter hurdles (1:01.98). On the opening day, Angelina Oputa, Essence Fredericks, Mary Katherine Kulp, and Sarah Daly broke the school record in the distance medley relay, finishing in 12:00.14. As the event continued, Alisha Beeman placed seventh in the javelin toss with a distance of 43.58 meters, and the foursome of Mercedes Tillman, Fogle, Funmi Daramola, and Briana Young took seventh in the 4x200-meter relay (1:38.63).
- UMass Lowell rested their usual suspects, but some competitors did make their way to the UMass Pre-Conference Meet. Senior Erika Shay took third place in the 400-meter hurdles (1:05.07) and freshman Katherine Equi was fifth (1:05.57).
- New Hampshire sent high jumper Jessica Salley to the Penn Relays, and there she placed 14th overall with a top height cleared of 1.68 meters.
- The Seawolves made their way to the city of brotherly love, where Kaylyn Gordon placed 32nd in the long jump, leaping to 17’ 5.5”.
- The University of Vermont had two wins on Saturday at the UMass Pre-Conference Meet. Grace Weisbecker claimed victory in the pole vault, clearing a winning height of 3.53 meters. Other notable Catamount finishes came from Hilary Rawding, who came runner-up in the 800-meter run (2:13.94), and Sydney Kurtic, who took third in the discus (38.53 meters).
- The Catamounts finished with 57 team points, placing them second among the four America East schools competing; New Hampshire finished with the highest point total among conference teams.
Male Outdoor Track & Field Notes
- On the opening day of Penn Relays Carnival, junior distance runner James Sommer placed fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, finishing just a hair short of his personal best at 9:12.30. On the second day of the gathering, sophomore Nathan Hiett palced sixth in the pole vault, jumping to a height of 15’ 3”. The final day of the Penn Relays brought with it Matthew Campbell placing third in the championship division of the high jump, clearing a height of 6’ 11.5”.
- The Capital District Classic was held on RPI’s campus, and was used as a tune up for Albany heading into the America East Championship. Freshman Keith Machabee ran his first 3,000-meter steeplechase and took second in 9:19.90, but there were was also a winner for the Great Danes; Hiett won the pole vault (16’ 0.75”). Other fine Purple and Gold finishes came from Jonathan Eustache, who placed third in the men’s discus (144’ 1”), Mande Semon, who placed second in the long jump (22’ 7.25”), and Eric Del Vescovo won the men’s shot put in 53’ 3.75”.
- Binghamton took part in the Cornell Big Red Invitational. With no team scoring the highlight finishes by individuals included Jason Bensaull picking up second in the javelin (163’ 9”), Cameron Beck finishing third in the in the 10-meter hurdles (14.99) and Nick Villa placing third in the pole vault (14’ 9”).
- At the Penn Relays, Hartford’s men’s 4x200-meter squad took 38th overall with a time of 1:32.47. The foursome was made up of Dominic DiCarlo, Alex Paterson, Brian Calderaro, and Hansy Monrose.
- At the Brown Springtime Invitational, the men had a school record-breaking performance from freshman Andrew Roschen, who threw his javelin 56.90-meter, good enough for second in the event. Robert Pepper also delivered a very strong performance, finishing third in the long jump at 5.99 meters, and fifth in the triple jump at 13.16 meters.
- An the Penn Relays, the 4x400-meter relay team of Michael Lucas, Jake Leithiser, Scott Merrill, and Alexander Moser placed 44th with a time of 3:24.53, and in the sprint medley, the team of Moser, Tyler Martin, Mozai Nelson and Joesph Viola took 20th (2:28.90). In the hammer throw, Wilson Adams placed 25th overall with a distance of 54.05 meters.
- Maine continued their week at the UMass Pre-Conference Meet on Saturday, where they placed fifth overall. Levi Frye won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:28.86, and Herby Lafortune took second in the long jump (6.43 meters).
- UMBC’s stand out Hassan Omar lowered his personal best time in the 5,000-meter on the opening day of the Penn Relays, finishing the race in 14:18.66. Throughout the three-day event, Yao Adantor took 27th in the shot put (16.15 meters), and Vincent Rentzsch finished in fourth in the javelin toss, throwing a new school record distance of 72.21 meters.
- In UMass Lowell’s final sharpening before the conference championship, Patrick Greaney took home first place in the long jump at the UMass Pre-Conference Meet; he won with a leap of 21’ 9”, his personal best. Freshman Matthew Bukuras took second in the javelin with a throw of 185’ 4”, and the field success continued with both Ryan O’Grady and Zachary Nardone taking third in the discus (137’ 9”) and hammer throw (155’ 4”) respectively.
- Yet another school to compete at the Penn Relays was the New Hampshire Wildcats. In their first event, the distance medley relay team of Drew Piazza, Isaiah Penn, Christopher Poggi, and John Prizzi came in eighth. The following day, Poggi, Steve Souza, Prizzi and Piazza won the 4x800-meter relay, besting some prestigious competition.
- Of the student-athletes representing UNH at the UMass Pre-Conference Meet, it was Michael Shanahan who shone brightest; the sophomore took first place in the hammed throw (58.03 meters). Ryan Maney took second in the 110-meter hurdles (14.78).
- Stony Brook made their way to the city of brotherly love, and there Daniel Denis took ninth in the 5,000-meter college race (14:28.16). Erik Speakman, Matthew Granata, Alex Lopresti, and Bradley Amazon ran the 4x800-meter relay, and came just seconds away from besting the time of the New Hampshire Wildcats, clocking in at 7:46.39.
- The Catamounts had two individual winners at the UMass Pre-Conference Meet, both coming from the field. Freshman John Cioffredi won the high jump, clearing a height of 1.96 meters; joining him as a victor was junior Isaac de LaBruere in the javelin (58.70 meters). Other noteworthy field finishes included Martin Kallur sitting in second in the pole vault (4.55 meters), Chris Ogletree taking third id the triple jump (13.18 meters).
- Vermont’s track squad won the men’s 4x400-meter realy with a time of 2:23.42, and Patrick Coppinger placed second in the 800-meter run in 1:53.48. Oliver Scofield came runner-up in the 5,000-meter with a pace of 14:52.16. Overall, the Catamounts scored 91.5 team points, first among the four competing America East schools.
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
April 28
Female Track Performer of the Week: Grace Claxton, Albany
Male Track Performer of the Week: James Sommer, Albany
Female Field Performer of the Week: Robyn McFetters, Maine
Male Field Performer of the Week: Vincent Rentzsch, UMBC