Indoor Track And Field To Host 11th Annual UAlbany Great Dane Classic

ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany indoor track and field program is back in action Friday, hosting the 11th Annual UAlbany Great Dane Classic. The meet will be held at the NYC Armory Track And Field Center beginning at 12:30 p.m. A record 47 schools/clubs will be represented, including a number of Olympians competing in various events.   CATCH THE ACTION ▪ Paint NYC purple! Tickets can be purchased for $10.00 per person at the door. ▪ A full recap of the day’s events will be posted on UAlbanySports.com following the meet.   LAST TIME OUT ▪ The UAlbany men’s and women’s squads combined to boast five individual champions last Saturday at Penn State’s Nittany Lion Challenge, marking the most ever victories at that meet for the program. Kareem Morris (60m-IC4A), Alfonso Scannipieco (PV-IC4A), Patricia McNish (LJ-ECAC), Kathryn Fanning (Mile-ECAC) and Jillian Haynes (60m-#4 All-time) all earned triumphs. ▪ As a whole, 13 athletes qualified for the ECAC/IC4A Championship in Boston, Mass. later this season with their performances. ▪ The Great Danes had 12 UAlbany athletes put up top-10 program performances. MEN AT PENN STATE The men’s indoor track and field program featured seven IC4A qualifying performances last Saturday afternoon at Penn State’s Nittany Lion Challenge. Junior Alfonso Scannapieco highlighted the field with his first-place 16-04.75 pole vault leap. Classmate Kareem Morris also finished first with a 60m dash time of 6.92, which qualified him for the IC4A Championship later in the season. Donald Williams Jr. earned second in the event, also with an IC4A proficient time of 6.94. Other IC4A qualifiers included sophomore John DeLallo (mile), Donald Williams (60m), Alex Petit-Frere (400m), Stephen Crouse (triple jump), and the 4x400m relay squad. Alexander Bowen Jr. also shone bright, placing second in the high jump with a program-record 7-01.00 mark. WOMEN AT PENN STATE Junior Kathryn Fanning was the highlight of the women’s performance last Saturday at Penn State’s Nittany Lion Challenge. Fanning shattered her own program record in the mile and set a new meet standard with a 4:45.88 time. The outstanding run ranked second in the nation and also qualified the Manlius, N.Y. native for the ECAC Championship. Senior Pat McNish, sophomore Michelle Anthony, senior Ali Rogers, junior Brianne Bellon and classmate Rochelle Reid also had ECAC qualifying performances at the meet. McNish placed first with her 19-07.50 leap in the long jump. Anthony posted a personal-best 8.77 mark in the 60m hurdles, while Rogers placed fourth with a 56.16 time in the 400m. Bellon earned a trip to Boston with a 2:55.39 1,000m time, good for fifth, while Reid placed sixth with a personal-best 5-07.00 high jump performance. In addition, junior Jillian Haynes earned the first-place victory against a very talented field of athletes, running a 7.71 time in the 60m dash.   LAST YEAR AT THE GREAT DANE CLASSIC In 2012’s UAlbany Great Dane Classic, the men's squad finished third overall, while the women placed sixth out of 26 and 24 scoring team fields, respectively. The event featured over 50 teams. Kathryn Fanning ran the 1,000 meter in 2:49.33 to place first with a meet record, while also exceeding a UAlbany record set in 2007 (2:50.74). Fanning will look to defend that record Friday. Pat McNish soared to a then program-record 19-4.00 in the long jump, placing third. The leap also qualified her for the ECAC Championships. On the men’s side, Alfonso Scannapieco leapt 16-8.75, placing first in the pole vault.   AROUND THE AMERICA EAST The Great Danes have posted 11 number one marks in the America East this season (seven men, four women)… 400m - Alex Petit-Frere (49.10) 500m - Jonanthan Santana (1:04.97) 1,000m - Ryan Florkiewicz (2:30.74) Mile - John DeLallo (4:13.50) 4x400m Relay - 3:17.36 High Jump - Alexander Bowen (7-1) Pole Vault - Alfonso Scannapieco (16-4.75) women’s 400m - Ali Rogers (56.16) Mile - Kathryn Fanning (4:45.88) 60m - Michelle Anthony (8.77) Long Jump - Pat McNish (19-7.5)   HISTORY OF SUCCESS: UAlbany Track & Field's 26 AEast Championships ▪ Men's Indoor: 2002-03, 2003-04, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 ▪ Women's Indoor: 2009-10, 2010-11 ▪ Men's Outdoor: 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 ▪ Women's Outdoor: 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012   UP NEXT UAlbany continues the 2013 indoor season in Boston, Mass, competing at the Boston University Terrier Classic Jan. 25-26th.