TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Junior Alisha Beeman (Bridgeport, Conn./Bunnell/Hartford) set a new school record in the women's javelin, and sophomore Vincent Rentzsch (Oranienburg, Germany/Elite Sportschule Potsdam) captured the men's event, as the UMBC track and field team started the outdoor season with a bang at the FSU Relays, Friday at the Mike Long Track.
Beeman finished fifth overall in the event, but took over the top spot in the Retriever record book with a toss of 41.92m (137'6"0). The mark bests the previous record of 41.40m (135'10") set in 2008 by Toni Boyd and qualifies Beeman for the ECAC Championships in May. The record is Beeman's third school mark after grabbing the top spot in the high jump and pentathlon during the 2013-14 indoor season.
The versatile junior also competed in the long jump on Friday in Tallahassee, posting a top leap of 4.71m (15'5.5") to place 13th.
In the men's event, Rentszch opened his spring season on a high note as he tried to qualify for the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive year. Already the school record holder in the event with his heave of 70.88m (232'6") at last year's NCAA East Prelims, the sophomore topped the field in the Sunshine State by recording a throw of 66.09m (216'10"), which surpasses the IC4A standard.
Senior Andrew Smith (Chadds Ford, Pa./Garnet Valley), who last weekend competed in the 800m run at the NCAA Indoor Championships, ran the 1500m at FSU and finished with the tenth-fastest time in school history, 3:56.29, to place third.
In the women's race, senior Cody Mezebish (Westminster, Md./South Carroll) ran the third-fastest time in program history, 4:39.46, and finished eighth overall.
Sophomore Hassan Omar (Frederick, Md./Thomas Johnson) and senior Jake Albino (Hampton, N.Y./Minisink Valley) both excelled in the 5,000m for the Retrievers. Omar started his outdoor season with a time of 14:50.36 in the race while Albino finished the run in 15:01.34, the sixth-best time in the UMBC record book.
Competing for the first time in 2014, senior Trae Proctor (Brandywine, Md./Thomas Stone) finished second overall in the 110m hurdles. His time of 14.14 is just off of his school record time of 14.12 which he set last year as a junior, and meets the IC4A standard.
Sophomore Nneoma Edokobi (Rockville, Md./Richard Montgomery) started the outdoor season with a personal-best throw of 39.53m (129'8") in the hammer to move up to seventh all-time in Retriever program history. She finished fifth overall in the event.
Senior Deborah Adelola (Lanham, Md./Bladensburg) and sophomore Marie Yuille (Bowie, Md./Oakland Mills) both gained top-ten finishes for UMBC in the 400m dash. Adelola placed eighth with a time of 57.38 while Yuille was right behind in ninth with a mark of 57.43, the seventh-fastest time in UMBC history.
The Florida State Relays continue on Saturday morning in the Sunshine State capital.
