University of Albany's Alie Beauvais & Luke Schoen Earn At-Large Berths to NCAA Track & Field Championship - UAlbany Sports 2009

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Albany, N.Y. – University at Albany’s Luke Schoen and Alie Beauvais have been selected to compete at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship, as announced on Tuesday, June 2 by the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Committee. The national championship will be held at the University of Arkansas’ John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Ark. on June 10-13. Schoen and Beauvais join teammates Joe Greene (400-meter intermediate hurdles) and Ricardo Estremera (3,000-meter steeplechase) at this year’s NCAA meet. The Great Danes will send a program-high four competitors to nationals.

Beauvais, who received All-East recognition in the 400-meter hurdles for placing seventh at the NCAA East Regional championship, was selected based on his personal-best time of 49.99 seconds at the IC4A championship. A junior from Hempstead, N.Y., Beauvais ranked first nationally among at-large candidates. UAlbany will have two student-athletes compete in the same event for the first time at the Division I level.

Schoen, an indoor and outdoor All-American in the pole vault, will be making his second straight appearance at the NCAA outdoor championship. He tied for ninth at last weekend’s regional championship in his first competition since suffering a leg injury at the Penn Relays in April. Schoen, a junior from Bohemia, N.Y., broke his own school record by clearing 17-feet, 6.50-inches at the Duke Asics Invitational, a mark which was ranked fourth on the list of athletes eligible for an at-large bid.

“I am happy to see Alie get an opportunity to compete on the national stage,” said UAlbany coach Roberto Vives, who took three athletes to the 2007 NCAA meet. “He has come a long way in the intermediate hurdles in a short period of time. Although Luke has missed a significant part of the season due to injury, he should do very well at the NCAA championship. He is a two-time All-American and a big meet performer.”

Greene and Estremera automatically qualified for the championship meet by placing in the top five of their respective events at the NCAA East Regional. Greene, who advanced to nationals for the third time in his career, finished third in the 400-meter hurdles in 50.21 seconds. He missed last year’s championship due to injury after making the field in 2006 and 2007. Estremera was fifth in the regional 3,000-meter steeplechase in 8:52.76. He posted the second-fastest time in school history despite running with a shoe which was damaged in the opening meters of his sectional race.

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NCAA Division I Track & Field Championship Men’s Qualifiers

2004: Brandon Howlett (AQ, discus)

2006: Joe Greene (AL, 400m hurdles), Marc Pallozzi (AL, javelin)

2007: Gered Burns (AL, 800 meters), Joe Greene (AQ, 400m hurdles), Marc Pallozzi (AQ, javelin)

2008: Luke Schoen (AQ, pole vault)

2009: Alie Beauvais (AL, 400m hurdles), Ricardo Estremera (AQ, 3,000m steeplechase), Joe Greene (AQ, 400m hurdles), Luke Schoen (AL, pole vault)

AQ--automatic qualifier, AL--at-large