University of Albany Men's Indoor Track & Field Wins Third Straight Great Dane Classic Title; Women Place Fourth - UAlbany Sports 2010

New York, N.Y. - Luke Schoen provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in the men's pole vault and Fey Adaramola eclipsed the school record in the women's 55-meter dash to lead the UAlbany indoor track and field teams at the Great Dane Classic on Friday, Jan. 22. The Great Dane men won the team title for the third straight year, while the women placed fourth at the annual event which was being held at the New York City Armory Track & Field Center.

UAlbany's men's team accumulated 136 points, which was 78 points better than second-place Delaware State to easily win the crown among 27 scoring teams. The Great Danes had 14 IC4A qualifying performances, five event champions and two USA Junior National Championship qualifiers while also eclipsing one school record, one meet record and a provisional mark at the competition. The UAlbany women accumulated 58 points, placing fourth among 27 scoring teams and only behind first-place Seton Hall (98) as well as Toledo (92) and Pennsylvania (68.83). The squad had three individuals qualify for the ECAC meet, two win an event title and one set a school and meet record.

Schoen, a three-time All-American, won the men's pole vault for clearing 17-feet, 7-inches. The mark was two inches shy of his program standard and was also tied for fifth-best in the nation. The senior was named the Great Dane Classic Male Field Athlete of the Meet for his efforts.

Adaramola paced the women's squad with a meet-record time of 6.96 seconds in the 55-meter dash to beat out one of the program's oldest school records. The mark broke Ellakisha Williamson's program standard of 7.01, which was recorded in 1998. It was just .04 seconds short of meeting the NCAA provisional qualifying standard and also the third-best time in the nation this season, trailing only the 6.94 mark posted by Penn State's Shavon Greaves and Bowling Green's Jeanette Pettigrew. Alie Beauvais and Peter Rowell each turned in an IC4A qualifying time in the men's sprints. Beauvais placed fourth in the 400 in 48.36, while Rowell was eighth in the 500 and clocked in at 1:05.16.

Sean Halpin was named the Great Dane Classic Male Track Athlete of the Meet for winning the Mile in 4:08.77 and qualifying for the IC4A championship in the event. The meet-record mark was also the seventh-best time in the country as well as the fastest in the nation recorded by a freshman this winter. Halpin qualified for the USA Junior National Championships in the 1,500-meter run, which easily beat out the Mile standard of 4:14.74.

Led by Valete Graham, UAlbany took the top two spots in the men's long jump. The senior, who fell two centimeters short of automatically qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships last spring, had a winning leap of 24-6.50. The mark eclipsed his own standard of 24-5 set at last season's Tyson Invitational hosted by Arkansas and qualified him for the IC4A championship. It was also just under a foot shy of the NCAA provisional mark. Fred Casimo also qualified for IC4As by posting a second-place mark of 23-5.50.

Nasim Siddeeq, the reigning USTFCCCA Northeast Region Field Athlete of the Year, and Tiffany Sprenkels each placed second in the men's and women's triple jump to qualify for the IC4A and ECAC championship meets, respectively. Siddeeq leaped 49-0.25, while Sprenkels recorded a personal-best jump of 39-11.25. Kadeem Howell also met the IC4A standard for the first time in his career by finishing fifth with a mark of 47-0.75, rounding out a stellar day for the horizontal jumpers.

Wilfredo de Jesus Elias and Kadine Johhnson eclipsed the IC4A and ECAC qualifying marks in the men's and women's weight throw to lead the throwing corps. de Jesus Elias, who won the event for the third time in as many meets this winter, posted a toss which sailed 60-10.50. Johnson had a fourth-place mark of 54-1.

In addition to Halpin, UAlbany had four other student-athletes meet an IC4A standard in a men's middle-distance event. Tyler Fogarty fell just over a second shy of an NCAA provisional mark for his second-place performance of 1:51.77 in the 800, while Aaron Lozier was sixth in 1:54.62. Nick Santos and Paul Lagno were second and third in the 1,000 for navigating the track in 2:26.92 and 2:27.81, respectively.

Alex Leuchanka highlighted the Great Danes' performances in the distance races. The freshman's second-place time of 14:57.87 in the 5,000-meter run, which was just over a second shy of the winning mark, qualified him for the USA Junior National Championships in June. Laura Cummings led the women's side by winning the 3,000-meter run in a personal-best time of 10:00.97.

The men's 4x400-meter relay team also qualified for IC4A postseason competition. Jonathan Santana, Jeffery Barnes, Ebube Abara and Beauvais combined to post a winning time of 3:14.17.

The UAlbany indoor track and field teams will participate in two different meets next weekend. Select student-athletes will head to Madison Square Garden to compete at the 103rd Millrose Games on Friday, Jan. 29, while most of UAlbany's student-athletes will compete at the New York Road Runners Saturday Night at the Armory II on Saturday, Jan. 30.

Great Dane Classic Men's Team Standings

1. UAlbany 136; 2. Delaware State 58; 3. Villanova 57; 4. Penn 48; 5. Binghamton 45; 6. Manhattan 38; 7. Maryland-Eastern Shroe 33; 8. Long Island 31.50; 9. Virginia Military Institute 30; 10. St. Francis, N.Y. 28; 11. Monmouth 27.50; 12. Seton Hall 26; 13. Morgan State 23; 14. Montclair State; 15. Adelphi 20; 16. Florida International 18.50; 17. Bronx C.C. 11; 18. Fairleigh Dickinson 9; T-19. Delhi 8; T-19. Lafayette 8; 21. St. Thomas Aquinas 6; 22. Coppin State 5; 23. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 3.50; T-24. St. Peter's 3; T-24. C.C. of Philadelphia 3; 26. La Salle 2; 27. Wheeling Jesuit 1.

Great Dane Classic Women's Team Standings

1. Seton Hall 98; 2. Toledo 92; 3. Penn 68.83; 4. UAlbany 54; 5. Massachusetts 49; 6. Monmouth 40; 7. Villanova 37.50; 8. Maryland-Eastern Shore 36; 9. Manhattan 31.83; 10. Florida International 29; 11. St. John's 22; 12. Morgan State 18.50; 13. Delaware 18; 14. Delaware State 17.50; 15. Virginia Military Institute 14; T-16. Adelphi 12; T-16. New Jersey City 12; 18. Long Island 10; 19. Fairleigh Dickinson 8; 20. Ramapo 5.50; 21. Binghamton 4.33; T-22. Wheeling Jesuit 4; T-22. St. Francis, N.Y. 4; T-22. Southern Connecticut 4; T-25. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 3; T-25. Lafayette 3.

UAlbany Men's Results
55-Meter Dash (Trials): 27. Germain Smith 6.68, 28. Tristan Akong 6.68. 200-Meter Dash: 18. Jonathan Santana 22.43. 20. Jeffery Barnes 22.47. 400-Meter Dash: 4. Alie Beauvais 48.36 (IC4A). 500-Meter Dash: 8. Peter Rowell 1:05.16 (IC4A), 14. Alan Nimblette 1:06.18, 16. Ebube Abara 1:06.61. 55-Meter High Hurdles (Trials): 3. Shane Wagner 7.79, 5. Garrett Askew 7.80, 16. Mohamed Kanu 8.08, 20. Alfred Pryor 8.17, 21. Sean Cooper 8.19, 24. Freddie Wills 8.24. 55-Meter High Hurdles (Finals): 6. Shane Wagner 7.83, 7. Garrett Askew 7.83. 800-Meter Run: 2. Tyler Fogarty 1:51.77 (IC4A), 6. Aaron Lozier 1:54.62 (IC4A). 1,000-Meter Run: 2. Nick Santos 2:26.92 (IC4A), 3. Paul Lagno 2:27.81 (IC4A), 7. Ian Ellis 2:32.64, 24. Cory Greczyn 2:53.23. Mile: 1. Sean Halpin 4:08.77 (IC4A, USA Junior National, Meet Record), 25. Ryan Florkiewicz 4:29.07. 3,000-Meter Run: 5. Ethan Clary 8:46.52, 7. Chris Manico 8:50.09, 16. Craig Weiss 9:05.56, 23. R.J. Sniffen 9:16.16. 5,000-Meter Run: 2. Alex Leuchanka 14:57.87 (USA Junior National), 14. David Rothman 15:45.47. High Jump: T-15. Tim McGreevy 6-1.25. Long Jump: 1. Valete Graham 24-6.50 (IC4A, School Record), 2. Fred Casimo 23-5.50 (IC4A), 4. Kyle Nadler 22-8.50, T-15. Kevin O'Riley 20-7.75. Triple Jump: 2. Nasim Siddeeq 49-0.25 (IC4A), 5. Kadeem Howell 47-0.75 (IC4A), 6. Jordan Pollock 46-9, 10. Dong Ning Hu 46-0.50. Pole Vault: 1. Luke Schoen 17-7 (NCAA Provisonal). Shot Put: 7. Cory Thomas 46-10, 15. Jordan Meikle 42-7.50. Weight Throw: 1. Wilfredo de Jesus Elias 60-10.50 (IC4A), 12. Jordan Meikle 45-6.50, 14. Cory Thomas 44-11.50. 4x400-Meter Relay: 1. Jonathan Santana, Jeffery Barnes, Ebube Abara, Alie Beauvais 3:14.17 (IC4A); 7. Mohamed Kanu, Alan Nimblette, Alex Petit-Frere, Peter Rowell 3:21.31. Distance Medley Relay: 5. Cory Greczyn, Alex Petit-Frere, Jared Leslie, Ian Ellis 10:23.67.

UAlbany Women's Results
55-Meter Dash (Trials): 1. Fey Adaramola 7.11 (ECAC), 11. Alli Rogers 7.30, 42. Katie Fargnoli 7.63, 43. Patrice Johnson 7.63, 48. Jessica Antoniades 7.70. 55-Meter Dash (Finals): 1. Fey Adaramola 6.96 (ECAC, School Record, Meet Record). 200-Meter Dash: 13. Fey Adaramola 25.13, 21. Alli Rogers 25.54, 31. Sherez Mohamed 25.97. 400-Meter Dash: 33. Tenica Roberts 59.83, 36. Nyree Richardson 59.91, 38. Tierra Chavis 59.97. 500-Meter Dash: 7. Sheena Simpkins 1:16.13, 13. Octavia Clarkson 1:17.90, 18. Brittany Eveleth 1:18.47. 55-Meter High Hurdles (Trials): 9. Ashley Mahlmeister 8.43. 11. Christen Griffin 8.53. 55-Meter High Hurdles (Finals): 5. Ashley Mahlmeister 8:33. 1,000-Meter Run: 6. Maureen Nweke 3:05.43, 12. Allie Carlson 3:08.44, 17. Laura Varble 3:13.06. 3,000-Meter Run: 1. Laura Cummings 10:00.97, 8. Jenn Pierson 10:18.97, 12. Miranda McConnell 10:31.37, 20. Ally Panos 10:55.51, 22. Melissa Del Rosario 11:10.49. High Jump: 14. Karley Giles 5-1, T-20. Sandy Antenor 4-11, T-22. Emily Curry 4-9. Long Jump: 7. Pat McNish 18-2.50, 8. Ashley Mahlmeister 18-1. Triple Jump: 2. Tiffany Sprenkels 39-11.25 (ECAC), 9. Ashley Mahlmeister 37-0.50, 10. Sandy Antenor 36-7. Pole Vault: T-11. Celine Cauderlier 10-10, 15. Rebecca Power 10-4, 22. Emily Mino 9-4.25. Shot Put: 7. Kadine Johnson 43-1.50, 14. Candice Mann 40-4.75, 15. Ashley Lewis 39-4.50, T-18. Catie Coxon 36-1.75. Weight Throw: 4. Kadine Johnson 54-1 (ECAC), 12. Sineaid Corley 47-1.50, 16. Candice Mann 45-1.50. 4x400-Meter Relay: 9. Sheena Simpkins, Octavia Clarkson, Jessica Hunter, Tierra Chavis 3:54.13; 12. Nyree Richardson, Tenica Roberts, Brittany Eveleth, Alli Rogers 3:57.98; 20. Elia Francis, Kendra Adams, Rebecca Kelly, Katie Fargnoli 4:04.76; 37. Renee Johnson, Allie Carlson, Jessica Panos, Maureen Nweke 4:17.99. Distance Medley Relay: 3. Ally Panos, Rebecca Kelly, Kendra Adams, Ada Lauterbach 12:29.35.


Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information