Carolina, Puerto Rico - Laura Cummings won the women's 1,500-meter run and Wilfredo de Jesus Elias and John Moore each qualified for the IC4A Championship in an individual event to lead the UAlbany men's and women's outdoor track and field teams at the Carolina Spring Break Classic in Puerto Rico on March 19-20. The non-scoring meet, which featured institutions from Puerto Rico and the United States as well as Puerto Rico National Team members, was being held at the Basilio Rodriguez Track and Field Stadium.
Competing in scorching conditions with the temperature reaching the low 90s and the heat index at 95 degrees, Cummings posted a winning time of 4:33.23 in the 1,500 to challenge the ECAC Championship qualifying mark. She edged out Boston University's Sarah Mosser by .71 seconds for the title.
de Jesus Elias and Moore met IC4A standards by placing third in the hammer throw and 800, respectively. de Jesus Elias, a native of Puerto Rico, had a mark of 192-feet, 3-inches in his premier event. The throw on his home soil, which ranked as one of the nation's best this spring, was over 20 feet better than the mark needed to qualify for IC4As. Moore finished the 800 in 1:51.49, and was followed by Nick Santos' fourth-place time of 1:51.89.
UAlbany eclipsed the IC4A and ECAC standards in both 4x400-meter relay events as well as the women's 4x100-meter relay. Peter Rowell, Jonathan Santana, Alex Petit-Frere and Ebube Abara combined for a third-place mark of 3:17.38 in the men's race, while Tierra Chavis, Octavia Clarkson, Alli Rogers and Sheena Simpkins combined for a third-place time of 3:50.76 on the women's side.
Fey Adaramola anchored the 4x100-meter relay which qualified for the ECAC meet by finishing fourth in 46.93 seconds. The relay also included Rogers, Christen Griffin and Simpkins. Individually, the reigning America East Conference champion in the 100- and 200-meter dashes fell just shy of qualifying for ECACs in both short sprinting events. She tied for fifth in the 100 by clocking in a time of 12.20 before finishing sixth in the 200 in 24.81.
Rebecca Kelly surpassed the meet record in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles by finishing fifth in a personal-best time of 1:02.83, which just missed the ECAC standard by .79 seconds. Clarkson placed second in the 400, navigating the track in a personal-best time of 57.55 to round out the top women's performers in the track events.
In addition to de Jesus Elias, UAlbany had two other individuals post a third-place finish in field events. Kadine Johnson recorded a mark of 129-3 in the discus throw, while Tiffany Sprenkels leaped 37-4 in the triple jump. Johnson also challenged her own school record in the hammer throw with a toss that sailed 160-11, which was good for sixth in the overall field.
The UAlbany men's and women's outdoor track and field teams, which were each selected to repeat as America East champions in the preseason coaches polls, will take the next week off before traveling to compete at the Texas Relays. The national meet that attracts many of the top-ranked schools in the country begins March 31 and runs through Apr. 3. The squads will also compete at the Duke Invitational on Apr. 2-3.
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UAlbany Men's Results
100-Meter Dash: 21. Jake Rachiele 11.24. 200-Meter Dash: 15. Jonathan Santana 22.15, 19. Taylor Chaney 22.23, T-35. Jake Rachiele 22.82, 50. Garrett Askew 23.57. 400-Meter Dash: 20. Alex Petit-Frere 50.34. 110-Meter High Hurdles: 13. Freddie Wills 15.72, 16. Garrett Askew 16.23, 17. Shane Wagner 16.24. 400-Meter Intermediate Hurdles: 10. Peter Rowell 54.83, 11. Shane Wagner 55.36, 19. Ebube Abara 57.32. 800-Meter Run: 3. John Moore 1:51.49 (IC4A), 4. Nick Santos 1:51.89, 15. Tyler Fogarty 1:55.09, 22. Sean Halpin 1:56.28. 1,500-Meter Run: 5. Paul Lagno 4:00.13. Long Jump: 4. Fred Casimo 22-9.75, 7. Valete Graham 21-7.50. Hammer Throw: 3. Wilfredo de Jesus Elias 192-3 (IC4A). 4x400-Meter Relay: 3. Peter Rowell, Jonathan Santana, Alex Petit-Frere, Ebube Abara 3:17.38 (IC4A). 7. Nick Santos, Tyler Fogarty, Sean Halpin, John Moore 3:20.92.
UAlbany Women's Results
100-Meter Dash: T-5. Fey Adaramola 12.20, 12. Alli Rogers 12.43. 200-Meter Dash: 6. Fey Adaramola 24.81, 14. Sheena Simpkins 25.75, 22. Jessica Hunter 26.28, 28. Tierra Chavis 26.73, 29. Sherez Mohamed 26.75. 400-Meter Dash: 2. Octavia Clarkson 57.55, 9. Tenica Roberts 59.54. 100-Meter High Hurdles: 12. Christen Griffin 15.05, 21. Ashley Mahlmeister 15.77. 400-Meter Intermediate Hurdles: 5. Rebecca Kelly 1:02.83, 10. Brittany Eveleth 1:05.63, 15. Christen Griffin 1:08.08, 17. Pat McNish 1:08.32. 1,500-Meter Run: 1. Laura Cummings 4:33.23. Long Jump: 5. Pat McNish 18-5.75, 14. Ashley Mahlmeister 16-7.75, 17. Tiffany Sprenkels 15-3.50. Triple Jump: 3. Tiffany Sprenkels 37-4. Discus Throw: 3. Kadine Johnson 129-3. Hammer Throw: 6. Kadine Johnson 160-11, 18. Candice Mann 108-7. Shot Put: 12. Candice Mann 37-3, 15. Kadine Johnson 34-0. 4x100-Meter Relay: 4. Alli Rogers, Christen Griffin, Sheena Simpkins, Fey Adaramola 46.93 (ECAC). 4x400-Meter Relay: 3. Tierra Chavis, Octavia Clarkson, Alli Rogers, Sheena Simpkins 3:50.76 (ECAC). 4. Jessica Hunter, Sherez Mohamed, Brittany Eveleth, Tenica Roberts 3:52.26.
Complete Results
