STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – All 18 America East’s indoor track and fields programs begin their hunt for the 2016 league championship starting Friday as the conferences annual two-day championship meet begins. The teams will compete for the title Friday and Saturday night at the Ocean Breeze Track and Field Athletic Complex on Staten Island.
The brand new Ocean Breeze Track and Field Athletic Complex will be the venue for the of the America East Indoor Track and Field Championship for the first time. Tickets are available for purchase at the door ($10 for adults, $5 for children 14 and under and $2 for America East students with a valid ID).
Fans who can’t be in attendance can watch all the championship action on AmericaEast.TV, which can be accessed on computers, tablets and smartphones free of charge. Championship Central also has the complete event schedule, links to live results and more. Join in the conversation at the America East Indoor Track & Field Championships by using #AEChamps on Twitter and Instagram.
Albany’s men’s team is the 10-time defending champions while the women are three-time defending champions. Last year, UMBC’s women followed closely behind Albany for second place. Binghamton men were the runner up for the seventh time in the last eight seasons. Binghamton women placed third last year for their third straight top-3 finish.
The Albany men, which looks to reclaim their title, has a few new faces to their team. Freshman Sidney Gibbons is seeded first in the 60-meter hurdles coming in to the championship
Coming into the meet Binghamton’s junior Jon Alkins and Albany’s freshman Osiris Nicholson are seeded first for the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.87. In addition Alkins is seeded second in the 200 behind Albany’s Taariq Jones.
New Hampshire’s junior Drew Piazza currently ranks second in the country in the 1,000-meter race and sixth in the 800 race in the country. New Hampshire took home third in last years championship.
Hassan Omar from UMBC is currently seeded first coming into the championship for the 3000. His seeded time of 8:05.13 is over ten seconds better than anyone else in the conference.
On the field events for the Albany men, they have a duo of juniors seeded first, Matthew Campbell in the high jump and Jordan Crump-King in the triple jump. Binghamton’s junior senior duo in the pole vault consisting of Joe Miceli and Peter Fagan are seeded first heading into the weekend with a mark of 5.12-meters.
On the women’s side, Binghamton’s Keishorea Armstrong, was named honorable mention All-American in the long jump during the 2015 outdoor season and is currently seeded first in four events for this weekend (60, 200, long jump and triple jump). Last year at this meet she earned the Coaches’ Award that is given to the athlete with the most points scored in the meet.
Albany’s Dominique Claudio is someone to look out for in the 800-meter race. The senior is currently seeded first with a time of 2:11.11. Her teammate and also senior Grace Claxton comes into the weekend with a one seed as well in the 500-meter race with a time of 1:12.87.
New Hampshire’s Elinor Purrier currently holds the fastest collegiate mile time in the country with a time of 4:29.71. At the 2015 outdoor championship she took home the gold in the 3000-meter steeplechase and 1500-meter race. In the steeplechase she placed seventh at NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships earning her All-American status. In the indoor championship she took home gold in the mile and the distance medley relay.
Stony Brook’s Kaylyn Gordon who was named the 2015 Most Outstanding rookie will be back and someone to look out for in the long jump. Last year she took home first with a jump of 5.92 meters. In addition, her teammate Christina Melian is currently ranked 13th-best in the nation for the 5000-meter run with a time of 15:48.77. Melian is seeded first in the 3000 with a time of 9:17.84 which is over ten seconds faster than any of the other competitors.
Meet action begins on Friday with the women’s pole vault, weight throw, long jump and pentathlon all starting at 4:00 p.m.