Women's Track and Field 2/21/2015 12:00:00 AM

Retriever Women Place Second, Men Fifth at America East Championships

New York, N.Y.-- The Retriever women came close to the top, but fell just short, as Albany took both the men's and women's championships at The Armory. The UMBC men finished in fifth place at the meet.

The women were led by Mercedes Jackson who took gold in the 60m dash and 200m dash. Jackson won her fourth straight 60m dash title with a time of 7.39. She followed that up with a new school, and AE record in the 200m dash with a time of 23.81.

Mercedes Tillman and Funmi Daramola went three-four in the 400m finals. Tillman crossed the tape in 57.41, while Daramola went 57.80. Paulette Fogle ran a new school best in the 500m, with a time of 1:13.32, good for gold in the event. Essence Fredericks finished just behind her in 1:14.44.

More school records fell, as Mary Katherine Kulp broke the school mark with a third place finish in a time of 2:11.57. The mark also qualifies Kulp for ECAC competition. Sarah Daly finished third in the mile run, placing herself on top of the school record books in the event with a run of 4:54.99.

The 4x400m and 4x800m relay teams both took second for the Retrievers. The quartet of Fogle, Kalane' Abbey, Jackson, and Daramola finished in a time of 3:49.58 in the 4x400. The 4x800 team of Kulp, Fredericks, Angelina Oputa, and Daly finished in 9:17.66 to take silver.

Freshman Ozi Edokobi took gold in the shot put, tossing a throw of 14.75m (48-04.75) to win the competition. Her sister, Nneoma Edokobi took third with a throw of 13.76m (45-01.75). Alisha Beeman won bronze in the high jump with a jump of 1.65m.

The men were led by Hassan Omar who won his second event of the competition. Omar won the 5k yesterday, and took the 3k this afternoon. Hassan took the event in a time of 8:26. Daryian Miles took gold in the 60m dash, finishing in a time of 6.932, just 0.006 ahead of Robert Harris III of Albany.

Niko Coaxum was a fourth place finisher in the 400m final with a time of 50.20. Purcell Freeman also took fourth in the 60m hurdles, crossing the tape in a time of 8.41.

The 4x400m and 4x800m relays took third on Saturday. Darrius Oxley, Coaxum, John Oputa, and James Oakley III finished the 4x400 in a time of 3:22; while Ty Thronson, Charles Bolinger, Brandon Bejarano, and Nick Johnson finished in a time of 7:49.38 in the 4x800 race.

Yao Adantor continued his strong success in the shot put this year, winning the competition with a toss of 17.05m. Teammate Isahq Rana finished in second with a toss of 16.07m.

Mercedes Jackson won both the Most Outstanding Track Performer and Co-Coaches Award this weekend. The Coaches Award is awarded to the student-athlete with the most points in the meet. Jackson shared the award with Keishorea Armstrong of Binghamton, scoring 22 points.

Coach David Bobb and his staff earned Women's Co-Coaching Staff of the Year, sharing the award with Albany.

FINAL POINT TOTALS

Men's

1. Albany: 191

2. Binghamton: 133.33

3. New Hampshire: 115.33

4. Vermont: 98

5. UMBC: 90

6. UMass Lowell: 64

7. Stony Brook: 46

8. Maine: 43.33

9. Hartford: 0