Indoor Track And Field Sets Sights On America East Titles

ALBANY, N.Y. - With proven success in conference competition, the University at Albany men's and women's indoor track and field squads will look to claim the program's 27th and 28th America East titles, Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 11-12, at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, Mass. The UAlbany men strive to capture an eighth straight title, while the women return a solid core from a squad that placed second a year ago. "Our teams have worked hard and prepared extremely well for the championship season and I believe we are ready for a great showing," said Roberto Vives in his 28th year as UAlbany's Director of Track and Field. "Our main competition will come from UMBC and Binghamton," added Vived. "We are deep in most events and are capable of championship scoring records with both our men's and women's teams."    A strong base of field performers lead the Great Dane men, including junior Alfonso Scannapieco (Mohegan Lake, N.Y.), who was the Most Outstanding Field Performer at last year's championship. Scannapieco is the defending pole vault and heptathlon champion and figures to be a favorite in those events once again. Sophomore Alexander Bowen (Beacon, N.Y.) is also a heavy favorite in the high jump. Bowen is the only athlete in the America East to have cleared seven feet this year and currently ranks 20th in the country in that event. The UAlbany women hope to capture their third title in four years and will look in particular to their relay squads and field performers to do so. Junior Kathryn Fanning (Manlius, N.Y.) will lead the Great Danes in the 4x800 relay and the distance medley relay. UAlbany easily boasts the top conference times in both of those events this season. In the field events, senior Pat McNish (Great Neck, N.Y.) is the favorite in both the long jump and the triple jump. "Our goals for this indoor season are to win both the men's and women's America East Conference Championship, finish in the top three at the ECAC and IC4A Championship, and qualify at least one male and female athlete to the NCAA Championship." added Vives. "We are excited and ready to begin this quest!" MEN'S QUICK HITS ▪ UAlbany's male athletes own the top America East marks in four events this season. ▪ Senior Jonathan Santana's 48.00 second time leads the pack in the 400m dash, followed by teammates Alex Petit-Frere (48.54) and Taariq Jones (49.23). ▪ Sophomore Chris Buchanan ranks first in the conference with his 4:08.89 mark in the mile. ▪ Field athletes Alexander Bowen and Alfonso Scannapieco both have nationally ranked leaps in the high jump and pole vault, respectively. ▪ Bowen's 7' 1" mark in the high jump is not only the best in the league, but the top height in UAlbany program history and the 20th-best in the NCAA Division I level this season. ▪ At the Armory Collegiate Invitational, junior pole vaulter Alfonso Scannapieco recorded his best bound of the season and top mark in the America East, clearing 17-00.75. ▪ Senior Alex Petit-Frere recorded his career-best indoor run with a 48.54 mark in the 400m dash, placing second at the Armory Collegiate Invitational. Petit-Frere also led the 4x400m relay team to a first-place finish in the New York division with a time of 3:15.65. ▪ The Great Danes added three more IC4A qualifiers to the pile at the Armory Collegiate Invitational -- Senior Charles Karam (1:04.98) and junior Daryl Subran (1:05.10) in the 500m dash. In addition, Kadeem Howell recorded his personal indoor best in the long jump with a leap of 23-00.75. WOMEN'S QUICK HITS ▪ The UAlbany women own the America East's top results in eight events this season and have rewritten seven program records. ▪ Senior Pat McNish garnered the America East Field Performer of the Week honor, announced by the conference office Tuesday. At the Armory Collegiate Invitational, McNish (Great Neck, N.Y.) placed first with a career-best indoor mark of 40'4.75" in the triple jump. and was also stellar in the long jump, placing 10th in the Championship final (19'8.25"). ▪ McNish has been dominant all season long with top America East long jump (19' 9.5") and triple jump (40' 3.25") marks. McNish also owns the program long jump record (19' 9.5") ▪ Senior Alli Rogers ranks first in the league with her 55.64 second time in the 400m dash. In addition, the 4x400m relay squad consisting of Rogers, Aderinsola Ajala, Tynelle Taylor-Chase, and Dominique Claudio own the conferences' top finish (3:46.52). ▪ Junior Kathryn Fanning has been a part of four program records and top league times this winter, shattering the mile (4:45.88), 1,000m (2:46.70), distance medley relay (11:40.00) and 4x800m relay (8:54.06) previous bests. ▪ Fanning was joined by Sherez Mohamed, Brianne Bellon, and Miranda McConnell in the league's fastest DMR time (11:40.00) , set at the Boston University Terrier Classic (1/26). ▪ At the Armory Invitational, the 4x800m team consisting of Fanning (2:09.9), Mohamed (2:17.1), Jonelle White (2:15.7), and Bellon (2:11.3) shattered UAlbany's record with an ECAC qualifying and second-place finish time of 8:54.06.▪ Junior Rochelle Reid's high jump leap of 5-08.50 broke a UAlbany women's indoor program record, as well as the event record at the 2013 Armory Collegiate Invitational. ▪ Also at the Armory Collegiate Invitational, junior Brittney Lane ran the second-fastest 5,000m time in the program's archives. In addition to writing her name amongst the tops in the record book, Lane's 16:57.02 time earned her second place as well as qualifying her for the ECAC Championship. 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