BURLINGTON, Vt. – UMBC seniors Dennison Long (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt/FIU) and Trae Proctor (Brandywine, Md./Thomas Stone) broke the conference record in the 100m dash and 110 hurdles, respectively, as the Retriever track and field team opened competition at the 2014 America East Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Saturday at the Frank H. Livak Track and Field Facility.
After day one, the UMBC men are in second place with 50 points, leading New Hampshire by nine, but trailing Albany by 13.
The Retriever women, meanwhile, sit in sixth with 14 points, trailing both Binghamton and Stony Brook by two.
Long and Proctor both qualified first in their respective events for tomorrow's event finals. Long topped the qualifiers in the 100m dash with a time of 10.37, just off his personal-best of 10.36, while Proctor led the prelim round of 110m hurdles with a time of 14.06.
Freshman Madeline Entwistle (Potomac, Md./Walt Whitman) qualified for the finals of 100m hurdles with a personal-best time of 15.13.
Junior Thor Serafenas (Olney, Md./Good Counsel/Clemson) won UMBC's first medal of the weekend, earning a silver in the hammer throw with a toss of 57.64m (189'1").
In the 400m dash, senior Deborah Adelola (Lanham, Md./Bladensburg) paced a quartet of Retrievers into the Sunday finals. Adelola recorded the best time of the day, a personal-record of 56.29 to move up to third in the Retriever record book, while sophomore Marie Yuille (Bowie, Md./Oakland Mills), senior Kirsten Jones (Brentwood, Tenn./M.L.K. Magnet), and junior Kalane' Abbey (Laurel, Md./Laurel) also moved on for UMBC.
In the men's race, freshman Erick Soetje (Clarksville, Md./River Hill) ran a personal-best of 49.12 to earn a spot in the finals.
Junior Charles Bolinger (Bowie, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) gained a spot in the finals for the 400m hurdles with a personal-best time of 54.85 move up to fourth in the UMBC record book.
The Retrievers got an athlete to advance in both the men's and women's 1,500m run with senior Jake Albino (Hampton, N.Y./Minisink Valley) and junior Sarah Daly (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion) both earning a spot in tomorrow's final. Sophomore Angelina Oputa (Bowie, Md./Elizabeth Seton) ran a personal-best of 4:46.82, the ninth-fastest time in UMBC history.
Two Retrievers men – senior Andrew Smith (Chadds Ford, Pa./Garnet Valley) and sophomore Andrew Keresztes (Port Jefferson, N.Y./Port Jefferson) – advanced to the finals while senior Cody Mezebish (Westminster, Md./South Carroll) gained a spot in the women's final.
UMBC school record holder Alisha Beeman (Bridgeport, Conn./Bunnell/Hartford) garnered a bronze medal in the javelin competition. The junior recorded a throw of 41.95m (137'7") while senior Heidi Danielsson (Jonkoping, Sweden/Sanda) recorded a personal-best toss of 32.48m (106'7") to move up to fourth in the UMBC record book. Senior Sean Kshimetski (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) finished fifth in the men's competition with a top throw of 53.43m (175'3), just off of his personal-best of 53.66m (176'0").
Senior Mo Drammeh (Frederick, Md./Thomas Johnson) gained a silver medal in the high jump after clearing 2.04m (6'8.25").
In the pole vault, senior Liam Stott (Carrboro, N.C./Chapel Hill) cleared a personal-best 4.65m (15'3") to move up to sixth in the Retrievers history book. Stott also posted a career-best at the America East indoor meet.
The Retrievers gained two top-five finishes in the men's 3,000m steeplechase as sophomore Redatu Semeon (Waldorf, Md./Thomas Stone) finished second (9:11.42) and senior Vinny DiSalvo (Washingtonville, N.Y./Washingtonville) placed fifth (9:32.01).
In the women's race, freshman Sophia Cologer (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) bettered her own school record, finishing eighth with a time of 11:14.71.
Freshman Abigale Slonski (Griswold, Conn./Griswold) recorded a personal-best leap of 5.22m (17'1.5") in the long jump to place sixth and move into a tie for sixth all-time in program history.
For the men, seniors Dosu Teyibo (Silver Spring, Md./Barrie) and Shioma Obemeata (New Rochelle, N.Y./Iona Prep/St. Francis) finished fifth and sixth.
In the final event of the day, sophomore Hassan Omar (Frederick, Md./Thomas Stone) won a silver medal by placing second with a time of 30:57.10.
Sophomore Nicole Dawson (Jessup, Md./Hammond) and senior Kirsten McGovern (Sykesville, Md./Century) both recorded career-best runs in the women's race. Dawson finished ninth with a time of 37:16.97 and McGovern was just behind in a time of 37:27.37.
Day two of the America East Championships opens on Sunday morning with the conclusion of the decathlon at 9:00 a.m.
