BALTIMORE – UMBC senior runner Andrew Smith (Chadds Ford, Pa./Garnet Valley) lowered his own school record in the 800m run by clocking in at 1:49.15 as the Retrievers competed on the second day of the Penn State Nationals, Saturday at the Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track.
Meanwhile, at the Patriot Games at George Mason, sophomore Caitlyn Davis (Clarksville, Md./River Hill) bettered her personal-best in the pole vault by clearing 3.22m (10'6.75").
Smith, who has already qualified for the IC4A Championships in March, led a host of Retrievers to set new personal-bests at the competition at Penn State. Classmate Jake Albino (Hampton, N.Y./Minisink Valley) recorded a new top time of 4:08.97 in the mile race, down almost two seconds from his IC4A qualifying time of 4:10.23 from last weekend's NYU Team Challenge.
Over the course of the two-day heptathlon, sophomore Vincent Rentzsch (Oranienburg, Germany) finished second with a personal-best score of 4,814 points. The sophomore won the shot put (13.52m; 44'4.25") and placed second in the long jump (6.31m; 20'8.50") on Friday evening and then finished second in both the 60m hurdles (8.68 secs.) and pole vault (4.10m; 13'5.25") on Saturday.
In the 1,000m run, three Retrievers set new personal-bests. Sophomore Nick Johnson (Olney, Md./Sherwood) and junior Charles Bolinger (Bowie, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) each set new bests in the men's race while finishing fourth (2:30.57) and fifth (2:30.83), respectively. For the women, sophomore Angelina Oputa (Bowie, Md./Elizabeth Seton) lowered her top mark down to 3:03.02.
After advancing to the finals in the 60m dash last night, junior Mercedes Jackson (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown) captured the top spot in Saturday's 200m dash. Jackson crossed the line with a top season time of 24.50, while senior Kirsten Jones (Brentwood, Tenn./M.L.K Magnet) placed sixth with an ECAC-qualifying time of 24.87. Jones also placed third in the 400m event with a time of 56.44.
In the 500m run, senior Deborah Adelola (Lanham, Md./Bladensburg) posted a new personal-best by clocking in at 1:14.96. Freshman Erick Soetje (Clarksburg, Md.) matched Adelola by recording a personal-best of 1:05.40 in the men's race, a time which ranks eighth in the UMBC record book.
Senior Cody Mezebish (Westminster, Md./South Carroll), who set a new school record in the 1,000m run earlier in the year at Penn State, recorded a new personal top time while placing ninth (2:14.71) in the 800m against a national field.
Both the men's and women's 4x400 relay teams also set season-bests at Penn State. The men's squad of Smith, freshman Darius Oxley (Silver Spring, Md./Blake), Asanke Ekanayake (Clarksburg, Md.), and Soetje combined to place 13th with a time of 3:19.92. The women's squad of Jones and juniors Paulette Fogle (Washington, D.C./Bishop McNamara), Kalane' Abbey (Laurel, Md./Laurel), and Briana Young (Bowie, Md./Elizabeth Seton) paced the field with a time of 3:46.18.
In Northern Virginia, Davis and others followed along the same path in posting career-bests.
In the men's pole vault competition, senior Liam Stott (Carrboro, N.C./Chapel Hill) equaled his career-best by clearing 4.45m (14'7.25"), finishing tied for second overall.
Freshman Mercedes Tillman (Waldorf, Md./North Point) broke the one-minute mark in the 400m dash with a personal-best of 59.49. In the 500m run, classmate Marie Yuille (Bowie, Md.) placed fourth by crossing the line at 1:19.20.
Sophomore Ehab Abutaleb (Silver Spring, Md.) advanced to the finals in both the 60m dash and the 60m hurdles. Senior Sean Cooper (Waldorf, Md./North Point/Delaware State) and freshman Tyler Ford (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) also reached the finals in the 60m dash.
UMBC continues its preparations for the America East Championships by competing at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational next weekend in New York City.
