BOSTON – The UMBC track and field
team won 11 event titles on the second day of the America East
Championships as the women earned their best-ever finish at the
conference meet, while the men matched their top finish since 2010,
Tuesday at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic
Center. Head coach David
Bobb and his staff was named the Women's Coaching Staff of
the Year after the top team finish.
With Albany claiming both of the team titles, the women finished
in second-place and the men placed third with just Binghamton
separating them from the Great Danes.
On the women's side, the Great Danes scored 233.50 points to win
the meet and the Retrievers claimed 131
points. Binghamton (124.50) and Vermont (91) followed in
third and fourth place while New Hampshire (76.50), Maine (64.50),
Stony Brook (44) and Hartford (15) rounded out the standings.
For the men, Albany (231.50) was trailed by Binghamton (134.50),
UMBC (130), and Maine (126) in the top-half of the
rankings. New Hampshire (74.50), Vermont (43.50), Stony
Brook (33), and Hartford (6) claimed the remaining spots.
Both the men and women earned relay wins on the final day of the
meet. The men's team of juniorJake
Albino (Hampton, N.Y./Minisink Valley), freshmen Nick
Johnson (Olney, Md./Sherwood) andAndrew
Keresztes (Port Jefferson, N.Y./Port Jefferson), and
junior Andrew
Smith (Chadds Ford, Pa./Garnet Valley) won the 4x800 relay
with a time of 7:46.18. Meanwhile, the women's squad of
sophomore Paulette Fogle (Washington, D.C./Bishop
McNamara), sophomore Kalane'
Abbey (Laurel, Md./Laurel), freshman D'Nique Phillip (Elkton, Md.), and junior Kirsten
Jones (Brentwood, Tenn./M.L.K Magnet) earned the top spot
in the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:47.97.
The overall team effort was bolstered by many individuals who
claimed titles as well as received meet honors. For the
second straight year senior Amanda
Deller (Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen) was named the Most
Outstanding Female Field Athlete after sweeping both throwing
events again. Deller won the weight throw competition on
Monday and followed it with her fourth career conference win in the
shot put with a heave of 14.40m (47'3.00"). She was not
alone at the top of the standings as freshman Nneoma
Edokobi (Rockville, Md./Richard Montgomery) earned the
bronze medal with a toss of 12.87m
(42'2.75"). Junior Emma
Mayne (Mt. Airy, Md./Linganore) and freshman Jennifer Nelson (Plainfield, Conn./Plainfield)
finished fifth and eighth, respectively.
In the men's event, junior Yao
Adantor (Laurel, Md./Reservoir/Morgan St./Maryland)
garnered a silver medal after registering a school record throw of
16.50m (54'1.75"). Sophomore Thor
Serafenas (Olney, Md./Good Counsel/Clemson) also recorded
a career-best toss, finishing fifth in the competition (15.68m;
51'5.50").
Also in the field events, senior Shioma
Obemeata (New Rochelle, N.Y./Iona Prep/St. Francis) took
the top spot in the triple jump with a career-best
leap. Obemeata bested the field by leaping 15.01m
(49'3.00") and moved to second all-time in the UMBC record
book.
The sprinters provided top performances for the Retrievers and
they were rewarded as senior Dennison
Long (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt/FIU) and
sophomore Mercedes Jackson (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown) swept
the Most Outstanding Track Athlete awards. Long and
Jackson both won the 60m dash, as well as the 200m
dash. Jackson and Deller tied along with two other
athletes for the most points earned at the meet.
Senior Trae
Proctor (Brandywine, Md./Thomas Stone) successfully
defended his gold medal in the 60m hurdles to bring his career haul
to three wins on the indoor track. The only Retriever to
ever go under eight seconds in the event, Proctor recorded a new
school-record time of 7.87 on Tuesday during his win.
In the heptathlon, freshman Vincent
Rentzsch (Oranienburg, Germany) used a steady performance
to score 4,786 points, the fifth-most in school history, and win a
bronze medal. Sitting in third after the first day,
Rentzsch took fourth in the 60m hurdles, eighth in the pole vault,
and fifth in the 1,000m run to hold on to his spot in third.
The Retrievers also received top-ten finishes from Ebonique Jones (New Castle, Del./William Penn) in
the 60m dash as well as Kirsten
Jones and Phillip in the 200m dash. Ebonique Jones' time of 7.71 was a personal-record and
moves her into a tie for third all-time at UMBC. Kirsten Jones and Phillip, in addition to
sophomore Abbey, also claimed top-ten spots in the 400m dash.
For the men, juniors Pat
Balderson (Mount Airy, Md./Linganore) and Dosu
Teyibo (Silver Spring, Md./Barrie) finished sixth and
eighth in the 60m dash and freshman Niko
Coaxum (Suitland, Md./Largo) placed ninth in the 400m
dash.
Fogle continued the Retrievers' success in the sprints by
winning the 500m dash in school-record time. Fogle's
time of 1:13.69 bested the field by over two seconds and surpassed
the previous UMBC record of 1:13.89 set by Latasha
Best in 2007.
Smith, the top seed in the 800m run, paced UMBC in the distance
events by winning the event with a time of 1:53.54. For
the women, junior Cody
Mezebish (Westminster, Md./South Carroll) finished third
in a personal-best time of 2:14.69 with sophomore Sarah
Daly (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion) placing eighth.
Keresztes and sophomore Mary Katherine Kulp (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) both set
personal-bests in the 1,000m run en route to top-five
finishes. Keresztes won a silver medal and moved to
second all-time at UMBC with a time of 2:28.32 while Kulp broke her
previous best by almost two seconds with a time of 2:59.25.
With top-times and distances recorded throughout the season,
selected Retrievers will return to Boston on the first weekend of
March for the IC4A and ECAC Championship meets.
Awards
Men's coaching staff -- Roberto Vives, Albany
Male outstanding rookie -- Temi Bajulaiye, Binghamton
MOP (Field) -- Alexander Bowen, Albany
MOP (Track) -- Dennison Long, UMBC
Coaches' Award (Most Points) -- Jonathan Santana, Albany
Women's coaching staff -- David Bobb,
UMBC
Most Outstanding Rookie -- Christy DiMichele, Binghamton
MOP (Field) -- Amanda
Deller, UMBC
MOP (Track) -- Mercedes Jackson, UMBC
Coaches' Award (Most Points) -- Four way tie (Jackson, Deller,
Conner, Fanning)
