University of Albany Men's Indoor Track & Field Stands First, Women Third After Day One of A-East Championships - UAlbany Sports

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Boston, Mass. – Wilfredo de Jesus Elias, Kamilah McShine and Luke Schoen all won individual events to lead the UAlbany men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams at the first day of the America East Conference Championships hosted by Boston University on Friday, Feb. 20. In addition, the men’s distance relay team provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship, shattering the meet and school records in the process. The Great Dane men stand in first place through five events, while the women are third after six events.

UAlbany’s men squad has 67 points, which outdistances second-place New Hampshire by 20 after the first day. The Great Dane women’s squad has 34.5 points, trailing only New Hampshire (68) and three-time reigning champion Boston University (45.50).

After setting the school record by seven seconds at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational on Feb. 6, the men’s distance relay team consisting of Aaron Lozier, Joe Greene, Tyler Fogarty and Ricardo Estremera took almost six more seconds off the program’s best time and finished the race in 9:42.99. The new championship meet record smashed the old one of 9:54.59 set by Boston University in 2007 and outdistanced the rest of the field by 11 seconds. Greene also ran the second-fastest time in the preliminary round of the 400-meter dash and clocked in a season-best mark of 47.66 seconds.

McShine, a co-captain, won the pentathlon for the second time in three years, recording 3,418 points. The school’s record holder in the event recorded the best mark among 16 competitors in the 55-meter high hurdles (8.12), long jump (17-6) and the 800-meter run (2:29.08). McShine also ran the fastest time in the preliminary round of the 55-meter hurdles, finishing in 8.03, while Jean Juste posted the best mark on the men’s side in the event with a time of 7.63.

de Jesus Elias and Schoen’s first-place showings in the weight throw and pole vault, respectively, highlighted the list of strong performances by Great Danes in the men’s field events. de Jesus Elias’ winning toss sailed 62-feet, 6-inches. Schoen cleared 16-6.75, while Mike Dempsey finished second with a mark of 15-9. UAlbany also had four of the top finishers in the long jump, led by Nasim Siddeeq’s second-place showing of 23-8.75 and Mike McCadney’s third-place leap of 23-6.75.

The women’s team also earned eight points for its second-place distance medley relay squad and had a pair of individuals place third in their respective field events. Laura Varble, Octavia Clarkson, Zuliana Fontanez and Laura Cummings combined for a season-best time of 12:16.84 in the DMR. Celine Cauderlier cleared 10-10 in the pole vault, while Jenn Gurrant leaped 17-10.75 in the long jump.

Fey Adaramola led the Great Dane women in the preliminary round of the sprinting events. She set a new school record for navigating the track in 24.46, eclipsing her mark of 24.80 set at the Great Dane Classic on Jan. 23 to advance to Saturday’s finals.

The America East Conference Championships will conclude tomorrow beginning at 10:00 a.m. The UAlbany men will aim to win their fourth consecutive title and sixth in seven years, while the women’s team hopes to win its first indoor championship in school history.

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Men’s Team Scores (Through 5 Events):

1. UAlbany 67, 2. New Hampshire 47, 3. Binghamton 36, 4. UMBC 14.50, 5. Vermont 10, 6. Maine 9.50, 7. Stony Brook 7, 8. Boston University 3, 9. Hartford 1.

Men’s Individual Results:

Weight Throw: 1. Wilfredo de Jesus Elias (UAlbany) 62-6 (IC4A), 2. Jeffrey Kaste (New Hampshire) 59-6.25 (IC4A), 3. Joanel Lopez (Binghamton) 56-4.50 (IC4A). Pole Vault: 1. Luke Schoen (UAlbany) 16-6.75 (IC4A), 2. Mike Dempsey (UAlbany) 15-9 (IC4A), 3. Robb Quiller (Binghamton) 15-9 (IC4A). Long Jump: 1. Spencer Shaw (New Hampshire) 24-0.25 (IC4A), 2. Nasim Siddeeq (UAlbany) 23-8.75 (IC4A), 3. Mike McCadney (UAlbany) 23-6.75 (IC4A). 5,000-Meter Run: 1. Chris Gaube (Binghamton) 14:45.27 (IC4A), 2. Nicholas Decrescenzo (New Hampshire) 14:46.63 (IC4A), 3. Brent Powers (New Hampshire) 14:56.42. Distance Medley Relay: 1. Aaron Lozier, Joe Greene, Tyler Fogarty, Ricardo Estremera (UAlbany) 9:42.99 (NCAA Provisional, Meet Record, School Record), 2. Binghamton 9:53.61 (IC4A), 3. Stony Brook 9:55.66 (IC4A).

Women’s Team Scores (Though 6 Events):

1. New Hampshire 68, 2. Boston University 45.50, 3. UAlbany 34.50, 4. Binghamton 33, 5. Stony Brook 14, 6. UMBC 13, 7. Maine 12, 8. Hartford 7, 9. Vermont 6.
Women’s Individual Results:

Pentathlon: 1. Kamilah McShine (UAlbany) 3,418 points, 2. Kaitlyn Dugan (New Hampshire) 3,156 points, 3. Rosie DeFino (Binghamton) 3,149 points. Weight Throw: 1. Ashlee Lathrop (New Hampshire) 57-3 (ECAC), 2. Rebecca Even 51-8.25 (Maine), 3. Quiteelia Boyd (UMBC) 48-11. Pole Vault: 1. Rita Ciambra (New Hampshire) 12-5.50 (Meet Record, ECAC), 2. Carly Gross (Binghamton) 10-10, 3. Celine Cauderlier (UAlbany) 10-10. Long Jump: 1. Edwina Clarke (Boston U.) 18-11.75, (IC4A), 2. Whitney Ford (Boston U.) 18-7 (IC4A), 3. Jenn Gurrant (UAlbany) 17-10.75. 5,000-Meter Run: 1. Andrea Walkonen (Boston U.) 16:04.49 (NCAA Auto, Meet Record), 2. Laura Huet (Stony Brook) 17:27.32 (ECAC), 3. Hayley Green (Stony Brook) 17:31.26 (ECAC). Distance Medley Relay: 1. New Hampshire 11:55.53 (ECAC), 2. Laura Varble, Octavia Clarkson, Zuliana Fontanez, Laura Cummings (UAlbany) 12:16.84. 3. UMBC 12:19.35.