PRINCETON, N.J. – The America East had immense success at the ECAC and IC4A Outdoor Championships over the weekend.
For the University at Albany, Grace Claxton won the women’s 400-meter dash in 53.07; Janice Johnson came in second in the shot put with a throw of 14.43 meters. They were the top female performers for the Great Danes as the Purple and Gold came in fourth place overall out of 53 competing schools.
On the men’s side for Albany, freshman Devon Willis won the triple jump with a distance of 15.54 meters for the lone team’s lone top finish. Yet, as a group, the Great Danes performed well enough to place second overall out of 46 competing schools.
For the Binghamton Bearcats, sophomore Keishorea Armstrong had a dominating performance; she placed first in the long jump (6.29 meters), and the triple jump (12.87 meters). She herself carried her team to a 17th place finish. For the Binghamton male’s, Brandon Bordeau came in 12th in the discus throw, hurling a distance of 49.10 meters.
The University of Maine had Jaclyn Masters compete in the women’s pole vault and come in 10th place, reaching a height of 3.76 meters, and Robyn McFetters in the hammer throw, placing fifth with a toss of 55.35 meters. The team as a hole scored a total of four points, and came in 44th.
Alexander Parenteau paced the Black Bears’ men’s team with a third place toss in the javelin throw, reaching 66.04 meters. As a team, Maine scored six points and finished in 37th place.
The UMBC Retrievers saw their senior spring specialist Mercedes Jackson take second place in the 100-meter dash, crossing the line at 11.65 seconds. As a team, there were numerous third place finishes for the Black and Gold: Senior Sarah Daly came in third in the 1,500-meter run (4:28.85), and the Retrievers 4x400-meter relay earned bronze (3:39.07), and freshman Ozioma Edokobi earned the final spot of the Olympic podium in the shot put (14.36 meters).
Hassan Omar came in second in the 5,000-meter run, finishing in 14:13.94; his time only behind fellow America East runner Robert Allen of UMass Lowell. America East javelin specialist and champion Vincent Rentzsch came in second place with a throw of 66.95 meters.
As a team, UMBC came in second in the women’s championship, and sixth in the mens’.
As mentioned above, the River Hawks had a first place finisher in Allen. The senior crossed the finish line of the 5,000-meter with a winning time of 14:10.96. Freshman teammate Paul Hogan came in a respectable fifth place in 14:15.33. As a team, Lowell scored 19.50 points, putting them in 21st place.
The women’s squad for UMass Lowell had strong runs from Elisabeth Monty in the 800-meter (2:08.72), and Celeste Pipia in the shot put (13.61 meters). As a team, they placed tied for 40th with five total points.
For the New Hampshire Wildcats, the distance races once against proved to be their strong suit. Samantha Blais (35:33.17) and Amber Short (35:33.94) both finished in the top three in the women’s 10,000-meter, and sophomore America East champion Elinor Purrier carried home gold in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:53.53, setting a new meet record. As a team, the group scored 28 points, placing them just outside the top ten at 11th.
The UNH men cheered on as sophomore Drew Piazza crossed the finish line in the 800-meter in first place, edging out the runner-up by just three-tenths of a seconds with a time of 1:48.62. Senior Kevin Greene came in second in the 1,500-meter run (3:46.66), just five-hundredths of a second behind the winner. In the field, Wildcat Jacob Renaud came in third in the hammer throw (60.89 meters). As a team, New Hampshire came in 15th with 24.50 points.
The 100-meter hurdles event proved kind for Stony Brook as freshman Courtney Warden placed second in 13.69 seconds. Fellow rookie Kaylyn Gordon finished in firth in the triple jump (12.46 meters).
The women of Stony Brook finished 33rd with 12 points.
The Vermont Catamounts men’s team scored three points total, and they came from the 4x800-meter relay race. The grouping of Danny Deluna, Thomas O’Leary, Patrick Coppinger, and Nick Deluna came in 6th place.
Sarah Roderick captured the heptathlon title at the championship, scoring 4,889 points to secure ten of Vermont’s 14 team total points. The other four points came from sophomore Mallory Honan in the long jump; her leap of 5.88 meters put her in fifth place.
Up next for the America East Outdoor Track & Field competitors are the NCAA East Regionals. The preliminaries will take place at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, beginning on Thursday, May 28th. Those who rank in the top-48 in their respective events are open to compete.
Winners
Men’s
Devon Willis, Albany – Triple Jump (15.54 meters)
Robert Allen, UMass Lowell – 5,000-meter (14:10.96)
Drew Piazza, New Hampshire – 800-meter (1:48.62)
Women’s
Grace Claxton, Albany - 400-meter (53.07)
Keishorea Armstrong, Binghamton – Long Jump (6.29 meters), Triple Jump (12.87 meters)
Elinor Purrier, New Hampshire – 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:53.53)
Sarah Roderick, Vermont – Heptathlon (4,889)