Indoor Track Wraps Nittany Lion Challenge
Results
Athletes of the Meet: Grace Claxton, Briana Cherry-Bronson, Jason Tomlinson, Jordan Crump-King
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – One week later than usual, the University at Albany track & field program finally took to the track for the first meet of the 2015 indoor season, competing in the Penn State Nittany Lion Challenge. The women's team saw seven individuals and one relay team hit ECAC qualifying standards, while the men had four individuals hit IC4A qualifying marks.
Additionally, the program began a new tradition Saturday in naming men's and women's track athlete and field athlete of the meet. Grace Claxton and Briana Cherry-Bronson both set new school records, in the 400 and weight throw respectively, earning them women's athlete of the meet honors, as did Jason Tomlinson, in the 600, to take one of the men's athlete of the meet spots. He was joined by Jordan Crump-King, for his performance in the triple jump.
Cherry-Bronson kicked off proceedings for UAlbany in the women's weight throw, the earliest contested event. She placed third overall, setting a new school record of 64'-1.25”, surpassing the previous mark of 59'-1.5” set in 2011 by Kadine Johnson. Cherry-Bronson, along with Chinwe Igwe, who placed ninth with a mark of 55'-8.25”, and Lauren Lopano, who placed 12th with a personal best mark of 52'-6.75”, hit the ECAC standard for the event. Competing at the same time was Nathan Hiett, who placed fifth in the men's pole vault, clearing 15'-1”, and freshman Mande Semon, who placed third in the men's long jump with a mark of 21'-11.5”.
John DeLallo earned UAlbany's first track IC4A qualifying mark, placing fourth in the mile in 4:10.85. Freshman Devon Willis placed third overall in the 60 hurdles, finishing with a time of 8.46, after an 8.61 effort in the preliminary round. In the women's hurdles, Michelle Anthony qualified second with a time of 8.62, before finishing sixth overall in the finals in 8.72. Anthony's time in the preliminary round satisfies the ECAC standard.
Jonathan Eustache set a new personal best in the men's weight throw, placing sixth with a mark of 57'-3.75”, satisfying the IC4A standard. ToniAnn Werner placed fifth in the women's long jump with a new personal best of 17'-10.25”. Robert Harris III placed sixth in the men's 60 in 6.96, satisfying the IC4A standard. The Danes placed three in the top-seven of the women's 60, with freshman Taahira Butterfield placing fourth in 7.86 (7.84 prelims), freshman Chanel Smith placing sixth in 7.89 (7.90 prelims), and Anthony placing seventh in 7.95 (7.93 prelims, personal best).
Dominique Claudio placed third in the women's 800 with a new personal best time of 2:12.58, eclipsing even her best outdoor mark. Claxton won the women's 400 in a new school record time of 55.07, surpassing the previous mark of 55.19 set by Allison Rogers in 2012. Claudio and Claxton also satisfied the ECAC standard for their events.
Janice Johnson placed fourth in the women's shot put with a mark of 43'-7.25”, which is a new indoor personal best. Jordan Crump-King placed fourth in the men's triple jump, satisfying the IC4A standard with a mark of 49'-3”. Jason Tomlinson set a new school record in the 600, placing second overall in 1:19.98. Tomlinson surpassed the previous mark of 1:20.12 set in 2011 by Peter Rowell. Kahlia Taylor placed sixth in the women's 200 in 25.20, a new indoor personal best.
Min Pacella placed fifth in the women's high jump, clearing a height of 5'-5”. Alexx Baum won the women's triple jump in 39'-3.75”, satisfying the ECAC standard. James Sommer set a new personal best in the men's 3,000, finishing 10th in 3:38.24. Valentina Talevi placed fifth in the women's 3,000 in 10:25.17. The meet concluded with the UAlbany women's 4x400 team finishing fourth overall in 3:49.14, satisfying the ECAC standard. Aderinsola Ajala led off in 56.4, followed by freshman Halie Snyder in 58.5, then Kamilah Williams in 58.3, and finally Claxton in 55.5.
Next up for UAlbany is a trip to Cornell for the Upstate Challenge on Friday, January 23.
