Indoor Track To Attend Fastrack Last Chance Meet
ALBANY, N.Y.—In the final meet before the ECAC and IC4A Indoor Championships, the University at Albany track and field program will return to the Ocean Breeze Complex for the Fastrack Last Chance Meet. A collection of schools and clubs also looking for qualifying marks will be competing alongside the Great Danes.
“The goal for this meet is for those without an ECAC or IC4A qualifying mark to get one,” said Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Roberto Vives. “We're also looking for NCAA or USA Track and Field marks.”
So far, the Great Danes have qualified a total of 38 individual student-athletes and five relay teams for ECAC and IC4A Championships.
Athletes competing for an ECAC mark include, Mary Adeyeye and Nichole Anderson in the 60-meter hurdles. Solène Bastien and Letti Hibbard will compete in the high jump. Anika Hibbard has already qualified for ECAC, but is looking to break the 1.75 school record—she has previously jumped 1.73. Colleen Maloney is looking for a qualifying time in the 3,000-meter along with Hannah Smith.
For the men's IC4A mark, Matthew Campbell is 16 cm away from qualifying in the triple jump. He will also have a no-pressure opportunity to compete in the high jump. David Carlson seeks a qualifying mark in the weight throw, Colonel Fakarode and David Henry Jr. in the triple jump, and Jordan Johnson in the 3,000-meter race. The men's 4x800 are also looking to hit the IC4A standard.
The IAAF World Indoor Championships is in Portland Oregon for March 17 to the 20. In order to attend the USA National Championships the athletes must: hit their event standard and be within the maximum number for that event. For example, in the 400-meter the athletes have to be in the top 20 and field events are top 16.
There are currently three national qualifiers on the team. Jordan Crump-King qualifies in the triple jump, Taariq Jones in the 400-meter, and Jonathan Eustache in the weight throw.
After this weekend, Chinwe Igwe is hoped to be the fourth qualifier. She is currently 27 cm away from the USATF National mark.
“We're sending very small group,” said Coach Vives. “Everyone else we're resting. Last year, our women had their best ever finish in second place overall, and the men finished third. We like to very competitive in that meet. Our goal is to always be in the top three. We want to try and pull out a championship, which we're good enough to do.”
The Fastrack Last Chance Meet is set to start at 4:00 P.M in the Ocean Breeze Complex on Staten Island.
