Indoor Track Wraps Valentine Invitational
Men's Results ǀ Women's Results
Athletes of the Meet: Dominique Claudio, Briana Cherry-Bronson, Solène Bastien, Taariq Jones, Jonathan Eustache
BOSTON – The University at Albany indoor track program competed for the final time before conference championships, visiting Boston University for the Valentine Invitational. The meet, UAlbany's fourth of the season, featured the largest amount of competitors of any meet so far on UAlbany's schedule. The Great Danes added five additional IC4A and ECAC qualifiers, bringing the season total to 29.
Though the meet began on Friday with the men's distance medley relay, the remaining events contested on Friday were exclusively women's events. The opposite was true for Saturday's events, which began with the women's distance medley relay followed exclusively by men's events.
Dominique Claudio was the first UAlbany track athlete to compete on Friday. She placed 13th in the 800 running a personal best time of 2:09.82. Michelle Anthony, coming off a school record effort two weeks ago at the Armory Track Invitational, placed fourth in the 60 hurdles in 8.57. Niamani Morrison placed 10th in 8.92, matching her personal best. Chanel Smith placed 17th in the 60 in a personal best 7.84.
UAlbany placed three in the top 20 in the women's 400, with all three running under 57 seconds. Halie Snyder placed 11th with a collegiate best 56.18, hitting the ECAC standard. Aderinsola Ajala placed 14th in a personal best 56.37. Kamilah Williams placed 19th in 56.96. Grace Claxton, who normally runs the 400, placed 21st in the 200 in 24.60.
Moving to the field events, two UAlbany athletes placed in the top 10 in the long jump. Aiyanna James placed third in 18'-9”. Solène Bastien placed 10th in a personal best 18'-2.25”. In the shot put, Janice Johnson placed 12th in 41'-0.5”. Zoe Doolittle placed 17th in 39'-6”. Veleisha Walker placed 21st in 38'-7”.
ToniAnn Werner placed 23rd in the pole vault, clearing a personal best height of 10'-11.75”. Rochelle Reid placed ninth in the high jump, clearing 5'-5”. Kayla Prochnow cleared 5'-1” to place 23rd. Bastien returned in the triple jump to take second overall, recording a mark of 40'-4.25”, her second personal best of the meet. Alexx Baum placed fourth in 39'-7.25”.
Three weight throwers placed in the top 10, two of whom competed at Millrose on Thursday. Briana Cherry-Bronson claimed victory, surpassing her own school record yet again by recording a mark of 65'-6.25”. Lauren Lopano, who did not compete at Millrose, placed fifth in a personal best 55'-6.5”. Chinwe Igwe placed eighth in 53'-9”.
Like the men, the women did not contest a distance medley relay. Devon Willis was UAlbany's first male athlete to compete, placing 21st in the 60 hurdles in 8.50. Youness Benzaid placed 21st in the 800 in 1:52.95.
In the 400, Taariq Jones placed seventh in an indoor best 47.71. The time extends his lead in the event in the America East, and moves him up to third on UAlbany's all-time indoor list. He previously held the fifth spot. Jason Tomlinson placed 14th in 48.19, also an indoor best. Youssef Benzamia placed 23rd in a personal best 48.43, hitting the IC4A standard. Ryan Small placed 20th in the 500 in a personal best 1:05.10, satisfying the IC4A standard.
UAlbany's top four runners in the 200 finished within a margin of 14 hundredths of a second. Jaymen Teemer finished 29th in 22.05. Winston McCormack Jr. finished 40th in an indoor best 22.13. Cherron Royal finished 42nd in a personal best 22.14. Robert Harris III finished 45th in an indoor best 22.19. Teemer and Royal hit the IC4A standard.
In UAlbany's final track event for the meet, James Sommer ran a 10-second personal best in the 3,000, running 8:28.82 to place 48th.
In the field events, Benzamia doubled up from the 400 to also compete in the long jump. He recorded a mark of 22'-2.5” to take 12th place. Nathan Hiett placed fourth in the pole vault, clearing a height of 16'-0.75”.
Jonathan Eustache, who set a personal best in the weight throw on Thursday at the Millrose Games to take third place, placed 10th in the weight throw at Valentine with a mark of 56'-3.75”. In the triple jump, Jordan Crump-King placed seventh with a mark of 48', and Colonel Fakarode placed 10th with a mark of 47'-2.5”.
Up next for UAlbany is a return to the Armory in New York City for America East Championships, where the men are nine-time defending champions, and the women are two-time defending champions, and winners of four of the last five. The meet is scheduled to begin Friday, February 20 and continue on Saturday, February 21.
