University of Albany Track & Field Teams Open Outdoor Season at Carolina Classic; Cummings Wins 1,500

Carolina, Puerto Rico - Laura Cummings won the women's 1,500-meter run and Wilfredo de Jesus Elias and John Moore each qualified for the IC4A Championship in an individual event to lead the UAlbany men's and women's outdoor track and field teams at the Carolina Spring Break Classic in Puerto Rico on March 19-20. The non-scoring meet, which featured institutions from Puerto Rico and the United States as well as Puerto Rico National Team members, was being held at the Basilio Rodriguez Track and Field Stadium.

Competing in scorching conditions with the temperature reaching the low 90s and the heat index at 95 degrees, Cummings posted a winning time of 4:33.23 in the 1,500 to challenge the ECAC Championship qualifying mark. She edged out Boston University's Sarah Mosser by .71 seconds for the title.

de Jesus Elias and Moore met IC4A standards by placing third in the hammer throw and 800, respectively. de Jesus Elias, a native of Puerto Rico, had a mark of 192-feet, 3-inches in his premier event. The throw on his home soil, which ranked as one of the nation's best this spring, was over 20 feet better than the mark needed to qualify for IC4As. Moore finished the 800 in 1:51.49, and was followed by Nick Santos' fourth-place time of 1:51.89.

UAlbany eclipsed the IC4A and ECAC standards in both 4x400-meter relay events as well as the women's 4x100-meter relay. Peter Rowell, Jonathan Santana, Alex Petit-Frere and Ebube Abara combined for a third-place mark of 3:17.38 in the men's race, while Tierra Chavis, Octavia Clarkson, Alli Rogers and Sheena Simpkins combined for a third-place time of 3:50.76 on the women's side.

Fey Adaramola anchored the 4x100-meter relay which qualified for the ECAC meet by finishing fourth in 46.93 seconds. The relay also included Rogers, Christen Griffin and Simpkins. Individually, the reigning America East Conference champion in the 100- and 200-meter dashes fell just shy of qualifying for ECACs in both short sprinting events. She tied for fifth in the 100 by clocking in a time of 12.20 before finishing sixth in the 200 in 24.81.

Rebecca Kelly surpassed the meet record in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles by finishing fifth in a personal-best time of 1:02.83, which just missed the ECAC standard by .79 seconds. Clarkson placed second in the 400, navigating the track in a personal-best time of 57.55 to round out the top women's performers in the track events.

In addition to de Jesus Elias, UAlbany had two other individuals post a third-place finish in field events. Kadine Johnson recorded a mark of 129-3 in the discus throw, while Tiffany Sprenkels leaped 37-4 in the triple jump. Johnson also challenged her own school record in the hammer throw with a toss that sailed 160-11, which was good for sixth in the overall field.

The UAlbany men's and women's outdoor track and field teams, which were each selected to repeat as America East champions in the preseason coaches polls, will take the next week off before traveling to compete at the Texas Relays. The national meet that attracts many of the top-ranked schools in the country begins March 31 and runs through Apr. 3. The squads will also compete at the Duke Invitational on Apr. 2-3.


Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information