ALBANY, N.Y. – One weekend remains before the 2018 America East Outdoor Championships, which means the schedule has arrived at one of the biggest events of the season. This week, the University at Albany track & field program will send about 40 student-athletes to compete in Philadelphia for the Penn Relays Carnival.
The Great Danes hosted the 34th Spring Classic last weekend at University Field, coming away with 26 event victories between the men and the women. 26 total teams and clubs competed, including 13 universities, including conference rivals Vermont and Hartford, as well as local schools Siena, Union, RPI, and Saint Rose.
“It was the best day so far this spring, even though it was windy,” said Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Roberto Vives. “Our student-athletes showed up and the competed well. We were happy to do the senior recognition with a lot of parents in attendance. It was good to have President Rodriguez here to help us with that presentation. And there was excitement around the team. A home meet brings a special flavor. It revived and refreshed our kids.”
The weather had finally broken with temperatures reaching the high 60s during the meet. One drawback, however, was the high tailwind on the 100m straightaway. While good for the short sprinters and hurdlers, as well as the horizontal jumpers, the wind was a hindrance for the other events.
“The positive side with the wind for the 100m and high hurdles, the student-athletes get big performances and it gets them excited,” said Vives. “It lets them know their training is working. For the oval events, the ones that were hindered because of the wind, you have to explain to them why they may not have performed to their expectations. But then you see a person like Holly Machabee who sets a personal best, it's even more encouraging if they look at it from that perspective. The team is really starting to round into race fitness.”
UAlbany hosts three home events each season, but only two are held on campus. The Spring Classic generally draws a larger audience than the XC Invitational in the fall, but the significance of a home meet goes beyond competing in front of the home crowd.
“We kept getting comments from the alumni about how good the team looked,” said Vives. “People who were out there felt proud to be parents and alums and friends. Everywhere you looked our team was in the front. Winning so many events was definitely unexpected because we knew we had athletes from club teams and different colleges, including some from our conference. But the team stepped up.”
Away from the Spring Classic last weekend, nine distance runners visited the University of Virginia to compete in the Virginia Challenge. It was the first time in program history that UAlbany attended this meet. Highlighting the meet in Charlottesville, and the weekend as a whole, was Kyle Gronostaj breaking his own school record in the 10,00m, finishing with a time of 29:32.41, becoming the first Great Dane to break 30 minutes in the event.
“This was the first year we sent a group to Virginia,” said Vives. “We always wanted to have all of our people, especially our seniors, here at our home meet, but the performances we saw in Virginia showed we made the right decision. There are limited opportunities for a distance runner to qualify for regionals. We put three on regional lists this past weekend. Kyle improved by close to 40 seconds on his best. It was the perfect night, he had a good field, and he got in the zone. All in all, we think both competitions went well for our team.”
Looking ahead to this week, the team will compete in one of the marquee events on the track & field calendar each year. The Penn Relays regularly draws over 800 high schools, over 300 colleges, and a selection of professional competitors to compete in front of crowds at Franklin Field numbering as high as 50,000. The meet occupies a unique position on UAlbany's schedule, in that it is arguably the most prestigious event of the year, but it also lands just one week before conference championships
“With Penn this year, we decided to take the same approach that we did with Jamaica and put our best foot forward,” said Vives. “We're excited about the group we're bringing. It's bigger than last year, but still a little bit smaller than we usually bring. There are about 40 athletes, and our goal was to take 40 of our best to the Relays this year. Looking at who we're bringing, our women's 4x100m relay could make the Championship of America after winning the College Division last year. Our women's shuttle hurdles relay could break their own school record. I think our men's 4x400m relay is ready to go under 3:10, and our women's relay can go 3:40. Our men's 4x800m relay can run 7:25. Those guys ran 1:54s in the wind this weekend, which is good for 1:51-1:52 in on a calm day. Kingsley is ready to go 7'. He's a big-meet competitor. It's going to be a tremendous experience. Everyone that we're taking is capable of a seasonal best and will represent the university well.
“The atmosphere is incredible,” Vives continued. “In track & field, we don't normally compete in front of those size crowds. On Thursday and Friday the meet will draw about 20,000 spectators, all the way up to 50,000 on Saturday. It just creates a special atmosphere. It's an exciting experience and event for our student-athletes.”
Most of the team this weekend will compete across town at RPI's Capital District Classic in a final tune-up for conference championships. The Classic, which usually is held on Saturday, has been moved to Sunday for this season.
“The goal for RPI is to sharpen our student-athletes and to make final decisions for who will compete in what events at conference championships,” said Vives. “This will give us a better understanding of where to put our athletes. The conference meet will be competitive. On the men's side, two teams are capable of scoring over 190 points, UMass Lowell and us. And UMBC, as hosts, will get a boost defending their home track. This week really gives us a chance to evaluate our people and see where they are. And it's good that it's nearby and we don't have to travel far.”
UAlbany's first event at the Penn Relays kicks off on Thursday at 9:00 a.m. with the College division of the women's discus. The Capital District Classic will start Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
