Philadelphia, Pa. ? Wilfredo de Jesus Elias broke the school record in the hammer throw by over a foot and met the NCAA East Regional Championship qualifying standard for the first time in leading the UAlbany outdoor track and field teams at the 115th running of the Penn Relays on Saturday, April 25. The national meet attracted a crowd of 47,000 fans on the final day.
de Jesus Elias recorded a mark of 192-feet, 8-inches to finish third in the college division of the hammer throw, bettering the old program standard of 191-5 set by Eric Opuana in 2004. The sophomore's previous personal best mark was 185-9, which he posted at Princeton's Larry Ellis Invitational last weekend.
Luke Schoen and Mike McCadney also met regional marks in their respective events. Schoen placed third in the pole vault championship with a mark of 17-4.50. McCadney leaped 50-4.50 to finish eighth in the triple jump championship, meeting the regional standard for the first time this spring.
The men's and women's 4x800-meter relay teams each met the IC4A and ECAC qualifying marks. Running in the championship section, Joe Belokopitsky, Nick Santos, Tyler Fogarty and John Moore posted an 11th-place time of 7:27.53. It was the second-fastest mark in school history. Melissa Lee, Esperanza Blanco, Zuliana Fontanez and Laura Cummings competed in the college race, finishing eighth in 8:59.74.
The UAlbany outdoor track and field teams will compete at the America East Conference Championships at Binghamton University on May 2-3. The men's team will look to win its fifth straight title and sixth in seven years, while the women's squad will look to win its third championship overall and first since 2007.
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UAlbany Men's Results
Triple Jump (Championship): 8. Mike McCadney 50-4.50 (NCAA Regional). Pole Vault (Championship): 3. Luke Schoen 17-4.50 (NCAA Regional). Hammer Throw (College): 3. Wilfredo de jesus Elias 192-8 (NCAA Regional, School Record). 4x800-Meter Relay (Championship): 11. Joe Belokopitsky, Nick Santos, Tyler Fogarty, John Moore 7:27.53 (IC4A).
UAlbany Women's Results
4x800-Meter Relay (College): 8. Melissa Lee, Esperanza Blanco, Zuliana Fontanez, Laura Cummings 8:59.74 (ECAC).
Complete Day Three Results
