Joe Greene & Marc Pallozzi Record Top-Five Finishes at NCAA East Regional Track & Field Championships

Gainesville, Fla. -- University at Albany’s Joe Greene and Marc Pallozzi each advanced to the NCAA championships in the 400-meter hurdles and javelin, respectively, for the second straight year on Saturday at the NCAA East Regional Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The two-day regional meet was held at the University at Florida’s James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track.

Greene placed third in the 400-hurdles final, the best finish by a UAlbany athlete in regional competition. He eclipsed his own school record by sprinting 50.18 seconds. He set the previous standard of 50.52 in the NCAA Championship’s semifinal roundlast year. Georgia’s Justin Gaymon, who took third at the 2006 regionals, was first in 49.61, while South Carolina’s Thomas Hilliard grabbed second in 49.83. The top five finishers advance to nationals on June 6-9 in Sacramento, Calif.

Marc Pallozzi finished fifth in the javelin by recording the second-best throw in school history of 226-feet, 8-inches on his final attempt. Pallozzi, who was tenth in this event at the 2006 nationals to earn All-America honors, set the UAlbany standard of 228-2 at last year’s NCAA East Regional.

Mike McCadney and Jessica Ortman were edged out in their bids for a top-five finish. McCadney tied for fifth in the triple jump by breaking his own school record with a leap of 50-feet, 11.50 inches. However, he was placed sixth after the tie was broken with Georgia Tech’s Alphonso Jordan based on a better second attempt in the final. Ortman, who set a UAlbany record in the 800-meter run in qualifying, was seventh in the championship race with a time of 2:07.32. Both athletes will be considered for NCAA at-large bids by a committee, with the announcement due on Tuesday.

Gered Burns led UAlbany to a school-record effort in the 4x400-meter relay, as the Great Danes shattered the existing mark with a time of 3:08.86 to finish sixth. Burns ran 47.9 seconds on the third leg, while Junior Burnett and Joe Greene posted 46-splits in their sections. Pat Weider went 48.3 on the second leg of the relay. Florida won the competition in 3:06.31 as the top three relays qualify for nationals.