UAlbany Men’s Outdoor Track Claims Its 2nd America East Championship In Three Years

Vestal, N.Y. – Gered Burns and Kamar Elliott finished first in their respective events to lead the University at Albany men’s track and field team to the 2005 America East Conference Championship at Binghamton University’s Track Stadium. Burns won the 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:53.63 to set a facility record, while Elliott posted a distance of 47-feet, 5.75-inches to take first place in the triple jump.

The Great Danes, who finished the competition with 192.83 points, had six individual champions. Jonathan Jones, Marc Pallozzi, Eric Opuana and Andy Allstadt all finished first in their respective events on the first day of competition to help UAlbany to the team championship. Elliott also placed second in the long jump on Saturday.

Allstadt, who won the 10,000-meter run, also placed third in the 5,000-meter run on the second day with a time of 15:07.12. Michael Lynch placed second in the shot put with a distance of 48-feet, 4.75-inches. Sheldon Gomes also posted a second-place finish in the triple jump with a leap of 47-feet, 3-inches.

"This was really gratifying because it was a total team effort," said UAlbany coach Roberto Vives, whose squad was edged out for the title at last year's outdoor championship by one-half point after winning the 2003 crown. "We learned how to close out in a meet that was competitive right to the end. We had several people step up their performances, including Sheldon Gomes coming back from hernia surgery to take second in the triple jump. That kind of effort helped our team score."

The UAlbany women finished fifth in the team standings by scoring 83 points. Alyssa Lotmore paced the Great Danes, placing second in the 5,000-meter run with an ECAC-qualifying time of 17:17.53. Lotmore also finished fourth in the 1,500-meter run in 4:37.94.

Joy Williams led the team in the field events, finishing second with a 42-foot, 5.25-inch performance in the shot put.

Northeastern, with 192 team points, won the women’s championship, followed by Boston U. , New Hampshire and Binghamton .

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MEN

1. UAlbany 192.83, 2. New Hampshire 177, 3. UMBC 110, 4. Binghamton 98.5, 5. Maine 86, 6. Northeastern 76.67, 7. Boston U. 58, 8. Stony Brook 23, 9. Vermont 21, 10. Hartford 6.

WOMEN

1. Northeastern 192, 2. Boston U. 124.5, 3. New Hampshire 113, 4. Binghamton 95.5, 5. UAlbany 83, 6. Maine 76, 7. UMBC 72, 8. Vermont 60, 9. Stony Brook 25, 10. Hartford 12.