Albany University wins the 88th Annual IC4A Championships
Albany University won the 88th annual IC4A Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Boston Univesity Track & Field Pavillion on Sunday.
Complete Results can be found on http://www.lancertiming.com/
Courtesy of Albany Sports Information
Boston, Mass. - The 4x800-meter relay team consisting of former Section II student-athletes Joe Belokopitsky, Nick Santos, John Moore and Tyler Fogarty eclipsed the school record by over 10 seconds and finished second to clinch the UAlbany men's indoor track team's first IC4A championship on Sunday, March 8 at the Boston University Track and Tennis Center. The Great Dane men finished with 72.50 points, which was nine better than second-place Connecticut, winners of the 2009 Big East title.
The men's title being battled out between UAlbany and UConn would come down to the three relay events to close out the meet. UConn had a distance medley relay, UAlbany had a 4x400-meter relay and both squads had a 4x800-meter relay which would be the deciding factor. UConn's distance medley relay team placed second, which cut the Great Dane lead to three points, 56.5-53.5, entering the 4x800. The Great Danes needed to finish no less than four points behind the Huskies in the race to clinch the team title entering the final event.
Even though Connecticut's squad won the 4x800 event in 7:20.09 to garner 10 points, UAlbany placed second in 7:24.94 while shattering the school record in the process to earn eight points and stay ahead of the Huskies by a point through 19 of the 20 events. Belokopitsky (Shaker) led off the relay with a split of 1:51.9, while Santos (Colonie Central) ran the second leg in 1:52.9. Moore (Fonda-Fultonville) finished the third leg in 1:49.3, and Fogarty (Shenendehowa) anchored the squad with a mark of 1:50.5. The men's 4x400-meter relay team consisting of Alie Beauvais, Jeffery Barnes (Albany), Peter Rowell (Scotia-Glenville) and Joe Greene then placed second with an NCAA provisional mark of 3:09.78, the second fastest time in program history, to close out the meet.
"Yesterday, we were a little flat," said head coach Roberto Vives, whose squad stood in fourth after the first day of the championship meet. "We had a meeting last night, and we came back today a different team. To beat the Big East champion was unbelievable. The kids stayed composed, and I am very proud of them."
A total of four Great Danes posted top-three finishes in track events. Greene broke his own school record in the 400-meter dash, finishing in an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 47.10 seconds to place third. Jean Juste provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship for the first time in his career. He finished second in the 55-meter high hurdles in 7.34. Moore also had a second-place finish in the 1,000-meter run, clocking in at 2:25.69. Beauvais crossed the tape in a personal-best time of 1:02.80 in the 500-meter dash to finish third.
UAlbany also got an additional 13 points in the triple jump. Mike McCadney, who owned the school record entering this winter before teammate Nasim Siddeeq broke it at the Great Dane Classic, reclaimed the program standard and finished second. He leaped 51-feet, 8.5-inches. Siddeeq placed fourth in the event with a mark of 49-10.
PAW PRINTS: The UAlbany men had never finished higher than fourth with 37 points at the IC4A meet ... The Great Danes also became the first America East school to win the team title ... Boston University's third-place finishes in 1985 and 1986 were the highest by an America East program at the championship meet until this weekend ...
Top 15 Men's Team Scores
1. UAlbany 72.50 points, 2. Connecticut 63.50, 3. Delaware State 48, 4. Manhattan 42, 5. Hampton 32, 6. William & Mary 31, 7. Rutgers 29.50, 8. Syracuse 29, 9. Morgan State 27, 10. Seton Hall 23, 11. Coppin State 22, 12. Duke 20, 13. Harvard 19.50, T-14. Binghamton 19, T-14. Georgetown 19.
