University of Albany Track and Field Sweeps Team Titles and Sets Seven School Records at Great Dane Classic - UAlbany Sports

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

New York, N.Y. – Nasim Siddeeq and Jenn Gurrant each won the triple jump with NCAA provisional qualifying marks to help the UAlbany indoor men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams sweep the team titles at the seventh annual Great Dane Classic held at the New York City Armory Track and Field Center on Friday, Jan. 23. The Great Danes also set seven school records at the meet.

The UAlbany men finished with 145.5 points, which was 82.5 points better than second-place Duquesne, to win the team championship at the meet for the second straight season. The Great Dane women accumulated 81 points. This marked the first time that the Great Danes won both team titles at the annual event.

Siddeeq and Gurrant led a list of five Great Danes who accumulated points in the triple jump for placing in the top eight. A junior transfer from Robert Morris University where he holds both the indoor and outdoor program standards in the event, Siddeeq leaped 51 feet, 7-3/4 inches to break teammate Mike McCadney’s school record of 50-11 set in each of the past two seasons. Gurrant, who set the school record in the long jump last week at the New York City Gotham Cup, recorded a personal-best mark of 42-3.5 in the event. Sandy Antenor qualified for the ECAC Championship with a third-place jump of 39-7.

Led by Valete Graham, three individuals on the men’s team qualified for the IC4A Championship for posting the top two finishes and three of the top five in the long jump. Graham won the event with a school record leap of 24-3.75, breaking Freddie Wills’ standard of 24-3.5 which was recorded last year. McCadney placed second for jumping 23-7.5, while Fred Casimo recorded a fifth-place mark of 23-5.5.

Wilfredo de jesus Elias and Kadine Johnson won the men’s and women’s weight throw, respectively, by setting new school records. Elias recorded a toss that sailed 62-9.5, which bettered his previous standard of 59-8.5 set last season. Johnson recorded a mark of 55-1, breaking Joy Williams’ throw of 52-1 in 2005. In addition, it was also four feet better than her previous personal-best mark.

John Moore won the 1,000-meter run in a school record time of 2:26.43 to pace the Great Danes in the middle distance events. He qualified for the IC4A Championship and eclipsed the previous standard of 2:26.50 held by Gered Burns, who was an All-American in the 800-meter run and now serves as a volunteer assistant coach.

Aaron Lozier and Tyler Fogarty also recorded IC4A qualifying marks in the mile and 1,000-meter run, respectively. Lozier won the mile in 4:11.42, while Fogarty placed second in his event, clocking in at 1:51.71. Zuliana Fontanez and Laura Cummings led the women’s team in the middle distance events. Fontanez was second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:16.07, and Cummings was third in the 1,000-meter run, finishing in 3:00.69.

Fey Adaramola led the sprinters by breaking the school record in the 200-meter dash while also recording a pair of ECAC qualifying marks. She finished fifth in the 200 in 24.80 seconds, which barely eclipsed the standard of 24.81 set by Ellakisha Williamson in 1998. Adaramola was also fourth in the 55-meter dash, crossing the line in 7.14.

Pat Weider, Joe Greene and Alie Beauvais all posted IC4A marks and finished third in their respective sprinting events. Weider finished the 200-meter dash in 21.96, Greene clocked in at 47.91 in the 400-meter dash and Beauvais recorded a time of 1:03.82 over 500-meters.

The Great Danes continued to dominate in the 4x400-meter relay event, as the men had a squad that fell a second shy of provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Championship while one of six women’s groups broke a school record. The men’s team consisting of Jeffery Barnes, Beauvais, Joe Belokopitsky and Greene finished with a winning time of 3:11.48. On the women’s side, Kamilah McShine, Adaramola, Melissa Lee and Fontanez finished with a second-place time of 3:51.44 and qualified for the ECAC Championship.

The UAlbany men also got strong contributions in the men’s pole vault. Luke Schoen won the pole vault for the third time in as many meets for clearing 16-8.75, while Dempsey’s fifth-place mark of 15-9 was also an IC4A qualifying mark. Emily Mino led all Great Dane women for leaping 9-10.

Jean Juste and McShine each recorded IC4A and ECAC marks in the 55-meter hurdles. Juste recorded a second-place time of 7.48, while McShine was also second for crossing the finish line with a personal-best mark of 7.96.

R.J. Sniffen and Laine Sefick recorded the highest finishes in the distance events. Sniffen was second in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:31.12 which qualified him for the United States Junior National Championship in June, while Sefick placed fifth in the 5,000-meters for clocking in a mark of 18:34.34.

“This was an unbelievable performance by both of our teams,” said head coach Roberto Vives. “We did exactly what we wanted to do. Seeing us compete this well as the host school was (very special).”



PAW PRINTS: This marked the first time that UAlbany swept the team titles at the Great Dane Classic, which started in 2003 ... A total of 39 men’s teams and 41 women’s programs competed at this year’s event ... The UAlbany men’s and women’s teams combined to accumulate seven school records and two NCAA provisional qualifying marks while also meeting 23 IC4A and ECAC standards.

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Men’s Team Rankings

1. UAlbany 145.50, 2. Duquesne 63, 3. Army 51, 4. Delaware State 46.50, 5. Binghamton 41.50, 6. Morgan State 39, 7. Northeastern 34, 8. Carolina Perchy 33, 9. Southern Connecticut State 27.50, 10. Virginia Military Institute 27, 11. Maryland-Eastern Shore 24, 12. Pennsylvania 21, 13. Rider 20, 14. Iona 18, T-15. Adelphi 14, T-15. Columbia 14, 17. Long Island 13, 18. Manhattan 11, 19. Ramapo 9, T-20. Essex C.C. 8, T-20. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 8, T-22. Delaware 7, T-22. Florida International 7, T-24. Montclair State 5, T-24. Saint Peter’s 5, 26. Lafayette 4, T-27. Villanova 2, T-27. Monmouth 2, 29. Wagner 1.



Women’s Team Rankings

1. UAlbany 81, 2. Morgan State 69, 3. Northeastern 64, 4. Princeton 59.50, 5. Massachusetts 55, 6. St. John’s 46, 7. Pennsylvania 35.50, 8. Columbia 31, 9. Delaware State 30, 10. Army 26, 11. Duquesne 24, 12. Essex C.C. 23, 13. Maryland-Eastern Shore 19, 14. Toledo 18.75, 15. Wagner 14, 16. Villanova 13.75 17. Florida International 12, 18. Rider 10, 19. Southern Connecticut State 9.75, 20. Montclair State 8, T-21. Long Island 6, T-21. Delaware 6, T-21. Manhattan 6, T-21. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 6, T-21. Wheeling Jesuit 6, 26. Binghamton 5.75, T-27. Adelphi 5, T-27. Lafayette 5, T-27. Virginia Military Institute 5, 30. Monmouth 1.



Men’s Event Champions

55-Meter Dash: Yavid Zackey (Carolina Perchy) 6.32. 200-Meter Dash: Yavid Zackey (Carolina Perchy) 21.60. 400-Meter Dash: Allodin Fothergill (Maryland-Eastern Shore) 47.46. 500-Meter Dash: Leslie Murray (Delaware State) 1:03.47. 55-Meter High Hurdles: Domonick Sylve (Army) 7.41. 800-Meter Run: Felix Kitur (Virginia Military Institute) 1:51.52. 1,000-Meter Run: 1. John Moore (UAlbany) 2:26.43. 11. Nick Santos 2:34.83. Mile: 1. Aaron Lozier (UAlbany) 4:11.42. 3,000-Meter Run: Josh Eddy (Duquesne) 8:18.01. 5,000-Meter Run: Jonathan Anderson (Army) 14:56.02. High Jump: James Blocker (Morgan State) 7-1. Long Jump: Valete Graham (UAlbany) 24-3.75. Triple Jump: 1. Nasim Siddeeq (UAlbany) 51-7.25. Pole Vault: Luke Schoen (UAlbany) 16-8.75. Shot Put: Nate Hunter (Northeastern) 59-11.75. Weight Throw: 1. Wilfredo de jesus Elias (UAlbany) 62-9.50. 4x400-Meter Relay: UAlbany, 3:11.48. Distance Medley Relay: Binghamton, 10:06.91.



Women’s Event Champions

55-Meter Dash: Porshe Giddings (Northeastern) 6.99. 200-Meter Dash: NeKisha Franklin (Delaware State) 24.23. 400-Meter Dash: Avionne Sloan (Morgan State) 56.00. 500-Meter Dash: Tanisha Kendrick (Morgan State) 1:14.56. 55-Meter High Hurdles: Natasha Ruddock (Essex C.C.) 7.67. 800-Meter Run: Tyneka Greene (St. John’s) 2:15.76. 1,000-Meter Run: Anna Aagenes (Pennsylvania) 2:51.40. Mile: Alex Banfich (Princeton) 4:56.26. 3,000-Meter Run: Reilly Kiernan (Princeton) 9:38.74. 5,000-Meter Run: Shiyi Zan (Massachusetts) 17:50.86. High Jump: Priscilla Frederic (St. John’s) 5-10. Long Jump: Consandria Walker (Northeastern) 18-11.75. Triple Jump: Jenn Gurrant (UAlbany) 42-3.25. Pole Vault: Kristen Bakanowski (Massachusetts) 12-3.50. Shot Put: Leitawsha Bronson (Morgan State) 46-0.75. Weight Throw: 1. Kadine Johnson (UAlbany) 55-1. 4x400-Meter Relay: Morgan State, 3:49.01. Distance Medley Relay: Maryland-Eastern Shore, 12:15.84.