University of Albany Track & Field Men First, Women Second After Day One Of Outdoor Championships - UAlbany Sports 2015

ALBANY, N.Y. – For the first time ever, the University at Albany is hosting an America East championship in track & field, with the running of the 2015 Outdoor Championships on the Great Danes’ University Field this Saturday and Sunday. After the conclusion of the first day of events, the UAlbany men lead the team competition with 52.5 points, followed by Vermont in second with 38.5 points and New Hampshire and Binghamton tied for third with 29 points apiece. The women rank second in the team standing with 49 points, behind New Hampshire in first with 72.16 points, and in front of Binghamton in third with 40.33 points. Day One featured 13 scoring events between the men and the women, four track finals and nine field finals. The first finals events were the women’s hammer throw and women’s javelin. Veleisha Walker became the first champion for UAlbany in the meet, winning the women’s javelin with a personal-best mark of 146’-8”, a mark which also breaks Walker’s own school record. In the women’s hammer, Briana Cherry-Bronson placed second with a mark of 178’-7”. Lauren Lopano placed third with a personal best mark of 169’-8”. And Chinwe Igwe placed sixth in 147’-10”. Kaytlin Mack placed fifth in the women’s pole vault, clearing a height of 10’-11.75”. Paige Vadnais, who was also competing in the women’s heptathlon, placed sixth in 10’-6”. In the women’s long jump, Aiyanna James placed fourth in 19’-0.5”. Alexx Baum, who won this event last year while competing for Binghamton, placed fifth in 18’-9.25”. Finally, Solène Bastien placed eighth in 17’-10.75”. The men got in on the action with a few finals events of their own. Jonathan Eustache placed sixth in the men’s hammer in 158’-4”. Phillip Udeogu placed fourth in the men’s javelin in 191’-6”. In the men’s long jump, Mande Semon placed second in 23’-3.25”, and Colonel Fakarode placed fifth in 22’-5.75”. The final two scoring field events of the day were the women’s high jump and the men’s pole vault. The women were shut out in the high jump. Rochelle Reid was the highest Great Dane finisher, placing just outside of a scoring position in ninth place, clearing a height of 5’-3”. Min Pacella, who placed 11th, cleared the same height. Men’s pole vault defending champion Nathan Hiett successfully defended his title, clearing a height of 16’-4.75” to claim first place. Justin Farrenkopf placed fifth and Donald DiBari seventh, both clearing 14’-11”. Two events on the track saw finals on Day One. First was the 3,000 steeplechase. The women did not field a competitor in the event, but on the men’s side, James Sommer placed second in 9:12.16, just off his personal best of 9:12.00. Tyler Ranke placed fifth in 9:25.55. The last final event of the day was also the event that closed the first day of competition. Jessica Donohue placed fourth behind a top-three sweep for New Hampshire worth 24 points in the women’s 10,000. Donohue’s time was 36:18.53. New Hampshire also took sixth place in the event, for a takeaway of 29 points. Kyle Gronostaj took fourth place in the men’s race, beating to the line a collection of Binghamton runners that placed fifth through eighth. Gronostaj finished in 31:45.35. Day One saw the first round of events for the men’s decathlon and the women’s heptathlon. UAlbany did not field an athlete in the decathlon, but fielded two, Vadnais and Mary Adeyeye. The heptathlon, which consisted of a field of 11 competitors, opened with the 100 hurdles, where Vadnais placed third in 14.87 and Adeyeye placed sixth in 15.99. Vadnais won the next event, the high jump, in 5’-3.25”. Adeyeye placed sixth in 4’-11.75”. Adeyeye won the shot put in 39’-7.25”, and Vadnais placed seventh in 28’-9.75”. In the final event of the day, the 200, Vadnais placed second in 25.56 and Adeyeye placed seventh in 27.09. After the first four events, Vadnais is third with 2,892 points, and Adeyeye is sixth with 2,729 points. In first is Binghamton’s Daniella Olusoga with 3,014 points, and in second is Vermont’s Sara Roderick with 2,957 points. The heptathlon will conclude tomorrow with the long jump, the javelin, and the 800. Every other event contested on Day One was a preliminary round for a Sunday final. Schuyler Pruyn qualified in the sixth position in the women’s 1,500 in 4:47.38. Chris Buchanan qualified in the 10th position 3:59.35. Defending champion Michelle Anthony qualified first in the women’s 100 hurdles in 13.99. Devon Willis qualified sixth and Kervens Dorsainvil qualified seventh in 15.18 and 15.31 respectively in the men’s 110 hurdles. Willis was running the event for the first time since the first meet of the outdoor season in March. Grace Claxton qualified in the second position in the women’s 400 in 55.16. Halie Snyder qualified in the third position in 55.08. Kamilah Williams qualified in the fourth position in 56.71. Defending champion Taariq Jones qualified first in the men’s 400 in 47.64. Jason Tomlinson qualified third in 48.57. Dominique Claudio qualified first in the women’s 800 in 2:11.01. Breanna Cummings qualified in the fifth position in 2:14.11. Youness Benzaid qualified in the fourth position in the men’s 800 in 1:54.51. Kahlia Taylor qualified in the fourth position in the women’s 100 in 11.95. Chanel Smith qualified in the eighth position in 12.22, and Taahira Butterfield qualified in the ninth position in 12.29. Jaymen Teemer qualified in the second position in the men’s 100 in 10.81. Cherron Royal qualified in the sixth position in 10.94. Semon qualified in the eighth position in 11.01. Claxton qualified second in the women’s 400 hurdles in 1:01.12. Aderinsola Ajala qualified fifth in 1:01.71. Jeremiah Obeng-Agyapong qualified first in the men’s 400 hurdles in 53.07. UAlbany qualified four into the women’s 200 final. Taylor qualified fourth in 24.57. Smith qualified fifth in 24.70. Anthony qualified seventh in 24.84. Butterfield qualified ninth in 25.05. The men qualified three into their 200 final. Teemer qualified in the second position in 21.66. Royal qualified in the third position in 21.75. And Jones qualified in the sixth position in 21.89. Sunday’s events begin at 9:00 a.m. with the continuation of the men’s decathlon. At 9:30 a.m., the women’s heptathlon continues. Field events start at 10:00 a.m. with the women’s discus, men’s shot put, women’s triple jump, and men’s high jump. Track events begin at 11:00 a.m. with the women’s 4x100 relay.