Storrs, Conn. - Freshmen sprinters Taylor Chaney and Jonathan Santana each won an individual event and ran on the victorious 4x400-meter relay, but the UAlbany men's outdoor track and field team fell to Connecticut, 122-78, in the 1st Annual "Dogfight" on Saturday, April 17 at the George J. Sherman-Family Sports Complex. The Huskies, who have only lost one dual meet at home since their current facility opened in 1995, were able to win the battle between two of the top programs in the Northeast Region by registering 15 first-place performances at the dual scoring meet.
Chaney won the 200-meter dash in a personal-best time of 21.88 seconds, which also topped the America East Conference performance list, while Santana placed first in the 400 with an IC4A Championship qualifying mark of 48.28 to pace the Great Danes. In addition, both freshmen ran on a pair of relay teams which eclipsed IC4A marks. The 4x400-meter relay, which also included Ebube Abara and Alan Nimblette, placed first in 3:16.98. Jake Rachiele and Germain Smith joined Chaney and Santana on the 4x100-meter relay squad which finished second in 41.75.
The Great Danes also had three additional student-athletes qualify for a postseason meet in a track event. John Moore was the runner-up finisher in the 800 by posting a time of 1:50.45, while Nick Santos placed fifth in 1:51.53. Sean Halpin eclipsed the USA Junior Nationals mark in the 1,500-meter run. The freshman's time of 3:57.25 was good for fifth overall. Garrett Askew and Ethan Clary posted runner-up finishes in the 110-meter high hurdles and 3,000-meter steeplechase, respectively. Askew crossed the line in 14.85, while Clary was clocked at 9:28.87.
Valete Graham, the two-time reigning America East champion in the long jump, won the event by leaping 23-feet, 6-inches and qualified for IC4As. Fred Casimo finished a close second for posting a mark of 23-5.50, which also met the IC4A standard. Kadeem Howell placed third by posting a personal-best mark of 23-2.75.
Highlighted by Stephen Hassard's personal-best mark in the discus throw, three UAlbany student-athletes posted a second-place finish in the throwing events. Hassard, who qualified for the IC4A Championship for the first time of his career, registered a mark of 158-4 in his premier event. Will Anger, a team captain, recorded a mark of 170-4 in the hammer throw, while Jordan Meikle's best toss in the shot put sailed 44-9.
UAlbany will compete at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia from April 22-24 and also send student-athletes to the Capital District Classic hosted by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Saturday, April 24.
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UAlbany Results
100-Meter Dash: 3. Jake Rachiele 10.88, 4. Earnest Waters 10.90, 5. Germain Smith 10.98, 6. Tristan Akong 11.03, 7. Sean Cooper 11.48, 8. Brandon Sligh 11.63. 200-Meter Dash: 1. Taylor Chaney 21.88, 3. Jake Rachiele 22.16, 4. Tristan Akong 22.74, 5. Garrett Askew 22.98. 400-Meter Dash: 1. Jonathan Santana 48.48 (IC4A), 4. Alex Petit-Frere 49.85. 110-Meter High Hurdles: 2. Garrett Askew 14.95, 3. Shane Wagner 14.97, 5. Jared Nilsson 15.31, 7. Sean Cooper 16.68. 400-Meter Intermediate Hurdles: 3. Peter Rowell 54.36, 4. Ebube Abara 54.95, 5. Alan Nimblette 56.44, 6. Shane Wagner 57.25. 800-Meter Run: 2. John Moore 1:50.45 (IC4A), 5. Nick Santos 1:51.53 (IC4A), 7. Ian Ellis 1:57.29, 8. Aaron Lozier 1:58.61, 9. Ryan Florkiewicz 1:59.21, 10. Daniel Hernandez 2:03.68. 1,500-Meter Run: 3. Tyler Fogarty 3:53.68, 4. Paul Lagno 3:56.70, 5. Sean Halpin 3:57.25 (USA Junior National), 7. Ryan Florkiewicz 4:04.87, 8. Cory Greczyn 4:14.53. 5,000-Meter Run: 3. R.J. Sniffen 15:14.46, 4. Alex Leuchanka 15:27.87, 5. David Rothman 15:41.88, 6. Jimmy Carroll 15:42.28. 3,000-Meter Steeplechase: 2. Ethan Clary 9:28.87, 3. Chris Manico 9:53.10. High Jump: 4. Freddie Wills 6-2.25, 6. Tim McGreevy 5-10.50. Long Jump: 1. Valete Graham 23-6 (IC4A), 2. Fred Casimo 23-5.50 (IC4A), 3. Kadeem Howell 23-2.75, 5. Kyle Nadler 21-5.25. Triple Jump: 3. Valete Graham 45-5, 4. Danny Hu 45-1.50, 5. Jordan Pollock 44-6.25. Pole Vault: 3. Ben Brunjes 13-9.25. Discus Throw: 2. Stephen Hassard 158-4 (IC4A), 4. Will Anger 137-10, 7. Freddie Wills 125-8, 8. Zach Murphy 120-5, 9. Sean Cooper 101-8, 10. Simon Cleary 100-0. Hammer Throw: 2. Will Anger 170-4, 4. Simon Cleary 148-1. Javelin Throw: 4. Mitchel Troise 142-7, 5. Erik Andersen 142-2. Shot Put: 2. Jordan Meikle 44-9, 6. Will Anger 36-3.50. 4x100-Meter Relay: 2. Jake Rachiele, Jonathan Santana, Taylor Chaney, Germain Smith 41.75 (IC4A). 4x400-Meter Relay: 1. Ebube Abara, Jonathan Santana, Taylor Chaney, Alan Nimblette 3:16.98 (IC4A).
Complete Results
