UNIVERSITY OF ALBANY'S BANFIELD MAKES CANADIAN WORLD JUNIOR TEAM - UALBANY SPORTS 2016

UAlbany Sports Information

EDMONTON, Alberta – The summer racing circuit for the University at Albany track & field student-athletes continued over the weekend, with two rising sophomores, Myles Banfield and Matthew LeLiever competing in their native Canada at the Canadian Junior Outdoor Championships. 

At stake was a berth into the World Junior Championships in Poland starting July 19. Both Banfield and LeLiever ran for The Speed Academy.

In Friday’s qualifying round, Banfield qualified first in 47.64. LeLiever qualified fifth in 48.58. LeLiever’s mark tied his personal best mark as a Great Dane, which he ran during this past indoor season. Banfield placed first overall in Saturday’s final in 47.17, earning a qualifying berth into World Junior Championships.

LeLiever placed seventh in 48.84. The runner-up, Nathan Friginette, also qualified for Junior World’s, finishing in 47.60. Banfield had previously satisfied the qualifying standard for the Junior World Championships 400m of 47.70, when he ran 46.93 in the second meet of the UAlbany outdoor season, the Florida Relays. He is the first freshman in UAlbany history to break 47 seconds in the 400m, and finished the collegiate season with a personal-best of 46.83, which ranks fourth all-time outdoors in UAlbany history.

The first round of the 400m at World Junior Championships is July 20 at 11:40 a.m. local time (5:40 a.m. ET). The meet will be held in the Zawisza Stadium in Bydgoszcz, Poland.