RESULTS
New York, N.Y—The UMBC track and field teams took to the Armory in New York, looking to capture their first America East title. The Retrievers had a strong showing on day one, with several runners advancing to final heats.
The women were led by Mercedes Jackson, who was the top qualifier in the 60m dash. Mercedes ran a season best 7.37. Mercedes Tillman also made the finals cut, running a 7.67, good for fourth best. Jackson did not stop there, as she went on to finish as the top qualifier in the 200m dash with a time of 24.17.
Four Retrievers qualified for the 400m dash finals on Friday. Funmi Daramola (57.04, third), Tillman (57.10, fourth), Kalane' Abbey (57.42, sixth), and Briana Young (58.72, eighth) advanced to tomorrow's final. Paulette Fogle and Essence Fredericks followed that up with qualifying times in the 500m dash. Fogle crossed the tape in 1:14.02, while Fredericks finished in 1:15.70. Fogle also earned a spot in the finals of the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.82. Madeleine Entwistle also qualified with a time of 9.02.
Julie Gessler finished in eighth place in the finals of the 5k, with a time of 17:37.18.
The distance medley team of Angelina Oputa, Fredericks, Mary Katherine Kulp and Sarah Daly won with a new school record of 11:40.01. The time breaks their previous record, which they set last meet.
Nneoma Edokobi led the charge in the field events, with a third place finish in the weighted throw. Edokboi threw a 16.77m, which qualifies her for ECAC competition. Alisha Beeman set a new school record in the pentathlon, scoring 3,364 points. Her fourth place finish was highlighted with her win in the high jump portion.
The men got jump started by Daryian Miles and Afees Abolurin qualifying for the 60m dash. Miles was the top qualifier with a time of 6.93, while Abolurin was eighth in 7.06. James Oakley was the lone Retriever qualifier in the 200m dash, placing fifth in a time of 22.45.
Niko Coaxum and John Oputa kept the UMBC train rolling with qualifying marks in the 400m dash. Coaxum was fourth with a time of 50.76, and Oputa crossed the tape in eighth in 51.13.
Hassan Omar set a new school mark in the 5k on Friday. Omar broke the record with a time of 14:29.20, good for first in the final. Purcell Freeman was the lone finisher in the 60m hurdles, finishing in a time of 8.36 to move on to the finals.
Thor Serafenas led the Retriever men in the field events, placing fifth in the weighted throw. Thor had his best throw of 17.39m, good enough to qualify for ECAC's next weekend. Vincent Rentzsch placed fourth in the heptathlon with a score of 2,606. Rentzsch won the shot put portion with a throw of 13.22m.
After day one of competition, both the UMBC men and women are in fifth place. The men have 20 points, while the women have 29. Albany leads the competition on both sides heading into the final day.
