Great Danes Picked To Win America East Men's & Women's Indoor Track & Field Titles

MEN

Cambridge, Mass. - (courtesy of America East Conference) The University at Albany men's indoor track & field team was unanimously selected by the America East coaches as the preseason favorite to capture its sixth straight indoor track and field title in 2011. The Great Danes have won the America East championship five straight years.

The Albany men garnered all eight possible first-place votes from opposing coaches, earning 64 points in the poll. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams. Binghamton University was second, receiving the remaining first-place vote and 53 points overall. Boston University grabbed third in the poll with 49 points. UMBC earned fourth place with 41 points, University of New Hampshire took fifth with 39 points and University of Maine came in sixth with 32 points. Stony Brook University (18 points), University of Vermont (17) and University of Hartford (11) rounded out the nine-team poll.

The Great Danes are poised to make a run at their sixth-straight America East title as they return eight All-America East selections from last year's squad. Sophomore Jonathan Santana, the Most Outstanding Rookie at the 2010 America East Championship, finished fourth in the 200-meter dash and third in the 400-meter dash as a freshman. Also back for Albany is three of the four members of the first-place distance medley team. Seniors John Moore, Tyler Fogarty and junior Paul Lagno all return after last year's triumph. Anchoring the field team for the Great Danes is senior Wilfredo de Jesus Elias, who won the weight throw with a distance of 19.01 meters, more than a full meter ahead of second place.

Binghamton, last year's America East runner-up, is picked to finish second again in 2010-11. The Bearcats are led by senior sprinter Cazal Arnett, the two-time Most Outstanding Track Performer of the championship meet. At the 2010 Indoor Championship, Arnett swept the 200- and 400-meter sprints, posting times of 21.54 and 47.39, respectively. The senior also anchored the first-place 4x400 relay team. Senior Erik van Ingen paces the distance team for the Bearcats, returning to defend his title in the one-mile run.

Boston U. looks to improve this season after finishing fifth at last season's indoor championship. To do that, the Terriers will look to the experience of graduate student Eric Ashe and a trio of middle distance runners. Ashe placed second in the 3,000-meter run at last year's championship while seniors Ken Haltom and Craig MacPherson and junior Balint Horvath return from the Terriers' champion 4x800 relay team.

UMBC, which took third at last year's indoor championship, brings back junior middle-distance runner Joshua Hewitson and senior heptathlete Keith Onto. Hewitson placed third in the 500-meter dash, posting a time of 1:03.77 while Onto finished second overall in the heptathlon with 5,192 points, just 24 points behind graduated teammate Dominic Devaud.

New Hampshire, which finished fourth last year, will look to its field athletes for leadership in 2010-11. Pacing that group is senior thrower Brice Paey. Paey, the Most Outstanding Field Performer of the 2010 indoor championship meet, placed first in the shot put at the 2010 Indoor Championship, breaking his own America East record in the event with a throw of 58'.5". Another thrower, senior Paul DeTurk, placed at last year's championship, finishing third in the weight throw.

Maine finished sixth at the 2010 America East Indoor Championship meet. The Black Bears will be led by junior distance runner Riley Masters. Masters, the two-time defending champion in the 3,000-meter run, paced the field in the event last year with a time of 8:14.66, which is less than three seconds off the conference record. Senior pole vaulter James Berry, who came in second in his event in 2010, leads the Black Bear field team.

Stony Brook, last year's seventh-place finisher at the indoor championship, returns a pair of middle-distance runners in seniors Alex Felce and Shamell Forbes. Both were part of 4x800 relay and 4,000-meter distance medley teams that scored points for Stony Brook at the 2010 indoor championship.

Vermont finished eighth at the America East Championship in 2010. The Catamounts will look to their distance runners in 2010-11, led by sophomore Andrew Stillman, who scored in three events at last year's championship meet.

Hartford, which finished ninth in 2010, will look to improve on that finish in 2011. To do that, the Hawks will need a big performance from junior Anderson Emerole, the only Hartford returner to score in an individual event at the 2010 indoor championship.

The 2010-11 indoor track and field season begins December 3, when Stony Brook competes in the Fordham Season Opener in the the Bronx, N.Y. Five other America East teams begin this weekend, with Binghamton, Hartford, UMBC, New Hampshire and Vermont participating in meets on December 4. Maine will open its season December 10 at New Hampshire. Boston U. begins its schedule at home on December 18. Albany does not start its season until January 7.

The 2011 America East Championship meet will take place February 18-19 at Boston University's Track and Tennis Center.

********

America East Conference Preseason Men's Indoor Track & Field Poll
1. Albany (8), 64; 2. Binghamton (1), 53; 3. Boston University 49; 4. UMBC 41; 5. New Hampshire 39;
6. Maine 32; 7. Stony Brook 18, 8. Vermont 17, 9. Hartford 11.



WOMEN

Cambridge, Mass. -- (courtesy of America East Conference) The nine America East women's indoor track & field coaches selected the University at Albany women as the favorites to win the conference in 2010-11. The Great Danes will look to defend their America East indoor title for the first time in program history.

Albany received six first-place votes and 62 points overall to lead the poll. The Great Danes finished just three points ahead of Boston University, which grabbed the remaining three first-place votes and 59 points. The University of Maine took third in the poll with 48 points, followed by University of New Hampshire in fourth with 42 points. The next four spots were closely contested with UMBC taking fifth place (28 points), just ahead of Binghamton University (27), Stony Brook University (26) and University of Vermont (24). University of Hartford (8) completed the nine-team poll. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.

Albany will rely on its six returning all-conference selections as it chases its second straight crown. Four all-league field athletes lead the way, including senior Celine Cauderlier, who paces that group as the defending champion in the pole vault. Cauderlier won the event at last season's championship with a vault of 11'6.5". Also back for Albany is Kadine Johnson, who finished second in the weight throw with a throw of 56'8.75" at the indoor championship. In the track events, the Danes will look to Christen Griffin), who finished second in the 55-meter hurdles at the conference meet, and Sheena Simpkins, who finished second in the 500-meter run.

Boston U., which won four straight championships from 2006-09, is selected to finish second for the second straight season. However, the Terriers enter the season with 11 returnees who appear on the 2009-10 All-Conference team. A pair of sophomores, Allison Barwise and Nikko Brady, stand out among that group. As a freshman, Barwise earned the championship meet Coaches' Award, given annually to the athlete who accumulates the most points at the meet, after placing first in the pentathlon. Her classmate Brady earned Most Outstanding Rookie honors to go along with wins in the 55-meter hurdles, the long jump and the 4x400-meter relay. The Terriers also return event champions Sarah Mosser, who won the 1,000-meter run, and Whitney Ford, who finished first in the triple jump.

Maine is selected to improve on its fourth-place finish at the 2010 America East Championship meet. The Black Bears are paced by junior Corey Conner, the defending champion in the one-mile run. Maine also brings back the defending high jump champion junior Jesse Labreck. Labreck cleared a height of 5'8" to win the event. The Black Bear sprinters are led by sophomore Cearha Miller, who took second place in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.43 as a freshman. Junior Shaniqua Burgess also scored for Maine in the 200-meter dash, finishing fourth.

New Hampshire, which finished third at the 2010 America East Championship meet, brings back the defending 800-meter champion in senior Allison Letourneau, who paced the field in the event with a time of 2:11.87. The Wildcats will also look to get points from senior distance runner Erica Jesseman, who finished second in the 5,000-meter run at the conference meet, and Kelly Thomas and Kaitlyn Dugan, who finished second and third, respectively, in the pentathlon.

UMBC, last season's fifth-place team, returns both of its event winners from last year's squad. Senior Sara Parkinson will pace the Retriever runners while sophomore Amanda Deller leads the field performers. Parkinson finished first in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 16:47.69. She also came in third in the 3,000-meter run. Deller won the shot put, recording a distance of 45'1.5" and came in third in the weight throw.

Binghamton returns a pair of all-conference performers from a team that finished seventh at the 2010 America East Championship meet. Sophomores Jessica Hennig and Jenna Marrione will lead a young Bearcat squad that includes 21 freshmen and sophomores. Hennig won the 400-meter dash as a freshman, posting a time of 55.77 while Marrione finished second in the pole vault.

Stony Brook, which finished eighth at the 2010 America East Championship meet, returns three of the four members of its 4,000-meter distance medley relay team. Juniors Justine Noel and Mary O'Connor along with senior Holly Van Dalen are back from the group that posted the third-fastest time in the distance medley in meet history.

Vermont earned a sixth-place finish at the 2010 America East Championship. However, the Catamounts return just one all-conference performer, sophomore runner Julie McGilpin. McGilpin took second place in the 800-meter run at last year's meet. Vermont will also look for help from a middle distance team that includes junior Marisa Guerette and sophomore Morgan Powers, both of whom scored points for the Catamounts at the 2010 conference meet.

Hartford, which finished ninth at the 2010 conference meet, is anchored in 2010-11 by a pair of field performers. Sophomore Brittney Lawson finished fourth in the weight throw as a freshman. Junior Nicolle Adams took sixth in the pentathlon. The pair combined to score eight of the Hawks 21 points at the indoor championship.

The 2010-11 indoor track and field season begins December 3, when Stony Brook competes in the Fordham Season Opener in the the Bronx, N.Y. Five other America East teams begin this weekend, with Binghamton, Hartford, UMBC, New Hampshire and Vermont participating in meets on December 4. Maine will open its season December 10 at New Hampshire. Boston U. begins its schedule at home on December 18. Albany does not start its season until January 7.

The 2011 America East Championship meet will take place February 18-19 at Boston University's Track and Tennis Center.

********

America East Conference Preseason Women's Indoor Track & Field Poll
1. Albany (6), 62; 2. Boston University (3), 59; 3. Maine 48; 4. New Hampshire 42; 5. UMBC 28;
6. Binghamton 27; 7. Stony Brook 26, 8. Vermont 24, 9. Hartford 8

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information