University of Albany 4x200-Meter Relay Teams Eclipse School Records at New Balance Invitational

New York, N.Y. - Jeffery Barnes and Alli Rogers anchored the men's and women's 4x200-meter relay teams which eclipsed school records to lead the UAlbany indoor track and field squads against many of the top schools in the country at the New Balance Invitational on Feb. 5-6. The programs combined to set or match three program standards and register 20 IC4A and ECAC qualifying marks at the national meet which was held at the New York City Armory Track & Field Center.

In addition to Texas A&M, which swept the team titles at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the competitive field featured six men's and nine women's teams listed in the USTFCCCA's Division I national rankings. The women's field had four of the top five schools, including Tennessee, which won the indoor national championship last winter, at the prestigious meet.

Freshmen and sophomores helped key the men's and women's 4x200-meter relay squads which broke school records. The men's team consisting of freshmen Jonathan Santana, Jake Rachiele and Tristan Akong as well as Barnes clocked in a third-place time of 1:28.74. Anchored by Rogers, a freshman, the women's group which also included Nyree Richardson, Jessica Hunter and Christen Griffin finished 10th in 1:43.02. Celine Cauderlier matched the program standard of 11-feet, 3.75-inches in the women's pole vault for the second straight week.

Jenn Pierson was among a growing list of first-time IC4A and ECAC qualifiers in an individual event. A transfer from Broome Community College, the junior placed fifth in the college division of the women's 3,000-meter run in 9:58.91 to become the first member of the women's program to qualify for ECACs in a distance event since Alyssa Lotmore in 2007.

The men's and women's sprints produced five qualifying marks for postseason competition. Barnes and Santana will compete at IC4As for the first time in the men's 400 for navigating the track in 49.00 and 49.02 seconds, respectively, in the college race. Beauvais also met the standard for finishing his heat of the championship race in 49.11. Adaramola met ECAC marks for her performances in the 60 (7.62) and 200 (24.88).

UAlbany had three men and one member of the women's program register IC4A and ECAC marks in the horizontal jumps. Fred Casimo most notably placed fourth in the men's long jump college division for flying 24-5.75 and placing fourth. The mark was a personal record by almost a foot for the former Section II athlete and was under an inch shy of Valete Graham's school record. Nasim Siddeeq was 11th in the long jump (23-1.25), while Graham placed 18th in the championship division of the event for leaping 23-6.25. Tiffany Sprenkels led the women's team with a fifth-place mark of 38-11.50 in the triple jump.

Wilfredo de Jesus Elias and Kadine Johnson continued to post some of the top marks among America East student-athletes in the men's and women's weight throw. de Jesus Elias was eighth in the men's championship division for his toss that sailed 60-0.50, while Johnson was 17th in the women's field for her mark of 54-3.75.

For the second straight week, Cummings met the ECAC qualifying times in the mile and 1,000. The senior was third in the championship division of the mile (4:56.74) and ninth in the college race of the 1,000 (2:54.77). Tyler Fogarty (Shenendehowa), John Moore and Nick Santos all produced an IC4A mark for the men's team in championship races. Fogarty was fifth in the 800 (1:50.86), Moore placed seventh in the mile (4:06.53) and Santos finished 13th in the 1,000 in 2:29.04. Through one month of action, six members of the men's team have combined to surpass 13 IC4A qualifying marks in middle-distance events.

Both 4x400-meter relay teams once again qualified for the IC4A and ECAC championship meets in March for their winning performances in the New York-New Jersey races. The men's squad consisting of Barnes, Ebube Abara, Santana and Beauvais hit the tape in 3:14.87, while Sheena Simpkins, Sherez Mohamed, Tierra Chavis and Octavia Clarkson finished in 3:51.34, which was an America East best.

In addition, the men's distance medley relay team consisting of Sean Halpin, Beauvais, Fogarty and Moore topped the America East performance list by over 16 seconds by finishing eighth in 9:53.09. The championship race also included teams from Texas A&M, Arkansas, Duke, Tennessee, Iona, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma, Brigham Young, George Mason and Texas Tech.

Selected student-athletes of the UAlbany men's and women's indoor track and field programs will trek to the University of Arkansas to compete at the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 12-13, while most of the Great Danes will participate in a tri-meet at Binghamton along with Syracuse on Feb. 12.
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UAlbany Men's Results

60-Meter Dash (College): 15. Tristan Akong 7.10, 18. Jake Rachiele 7.12, 20. Germain Smith 7.14, 24. Earnest Waters 7.16. 200-Meter Dash (College): 10. Jake Rachiele 23.05. 400-Meter Dash (Championship): 37. Alie Beauvais 49.11 (IC4A). 400-Meter Dash (College): 6. Jeffery Barnes 49.00 (IC4A), 7. Jonathan Santana 49.02 (IC4A), 45. Ebube Abara 50.45. 500-Meter Dash (College): 11. Alex Petit-Frere 1:06.20, 15. Alan Nimblette 1:06.33, 18. Peter Rowell 1:06.55. 60-Meter High Hurdles (College): T-9. Garrett Askew 8.42, 15. Shane Wagner 8.64, 19. Nick Assini 8.67, 20. Mohamed Kanu 8.73. 800-Meter Run (Championship): 5. Tyler Fogarty 1:50.86 (IC4A). 800-Meter Run (College): 11. Nick Santos 1:55.13. 1,000-Meter Run (Championship): 13. Nick Santos 2:29.04 (IC4A), 20. Ian Ellis 2:30.56, 29. Aaron Lozier 2:35.98. Mile (Championship): 7. John Moore 4:06.53 (IC4A). Mile (College): 19. Paul Lagno 4:15.86, 43. Sean Halpin 4:24.99, 53. Aaron Lozier 4:38.30. 3,000-Meter Run (College): 26. Ethan Clary 8:46.70, 30. R.J. Sniffen 8:50.47. Long Jump (Championship): 18. Valete Graham 23-6.25 (IC4A). Long Jump (College): 4. Fred Casimo 24-5.75 (IC4A), 11. Nasim Siddeeq 23-1.25 (IC4A). Triple Jump (College): 14. Dong Ning Hu 45-6.25. Weight Throw (Championship): 8. Wilfredo de Jesus Elias 60-0.50 (IC4A). 4x200-Meter Run (Championship): 3. Jonathan Santana, Jake Rachiele, Tristan Akong, Jeffery Barnes 1:28.74 (School Record). 4x400-Meter Relay (New York-New Jersey): 1. Jeffery Barnes, Ebube Abara, Jonathan Santana, Alie Beauvais 3:14.87 (IC4A). 4x800-Meter Relay (Championship): 12. Ryan Florkiewicz, Cory Greczyn, Ian Ellis, Paul Lagno 7:56.43. Distance Medley Relay (Championship): 8. Sean Halpin, Alie Beauvais, Tyler Fogarty, John Moore 9:53.09 (IC4A).

UAlbany Women's Results

60-Meter Dash (Championship): 25. Fey Adaramola 7.62 (ECAC). 60-Meter Dash (College): 20. Alli Rogers 7.89, 21. Quante Harris 7.89. 200-Meter Dash (Championship): 37. Fey Adaramola 24.88 (ECAC). 200-Meter Dash (College): 32. Nyree Richardson 25.97. 400-Meter Dash (College): 15. Sherez Mohamed 57.52, 34. Tierra Chavis 58.64, 42. Tenica Roberts 59.04. 500-Meter Dash (College): 6. Sheena Simpkins 1:17.03, 13. Brittany Eveleth 1:17.95, 16. Elia Francis 1:18.49, 26. Octavia Clarkson 1:19.89. 60-Meter High Hurdles (Championship): 47. Ashley Mahlmeister 9.01. 60-Meter High Hurdles (College): 7. Christen Griffin 8.99. 800-Meter Run (College): 46. Kendra Adams 2:19.73. 1,000-Meter Run (Championship): 9. Laura Cummings 2:54.77 (ECAC). Mile (College): 3. Laura Cummings 4:56.74 (ECAC), 34. Maureen Nweke 5:17.03. 3,000-Meter Run (College): 5. Jenn Pierson 9:58.61 (ECAC), 16. Miranda McConnell 10:31.34. Long Jump (College): T-17. Pat McNish 18-3, 39. Ashley Mahlmeister 17-3.50. Triple Jump (College): 5. Tiffany Sprenkels 38-11.50 (ECAC), 14. Sandy Antenor 37-8.75. Pole Vault (College): T-11. Celine Cauderlier 11-3.75 (Matches School Record). Shot Put (Championship): 47. Kadine Johnson 38-11.75, 50. Candice Mann 38-10.25. Weight Throw (Championship): 17. Kadine Johnson 54-3.75 (ECAC). 4x200-Meter Run (Championship): 10. Nyree Richardson, Jessica Hunter, Christen Griffin, Alli Rogers 1:43.02 (School Record). 4x400-Meter Relay (New York-New Jersey): 1. Sheena Simpkins, Sherez Mohamed, Tierra Chavis, Octavia Clarkson 3:51.34 (ECAC). 4x800-Meter Relay (Championship): 12. Renee Johnson, Allie Carlson, Maureen Nweke, Kendra Adams 9:37.40. Distance Medley Relay (College): 16. Maureen Nweke, Rebecca Kelly, Allie Carlson, Ally Panos 12:31.03.

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information