In their last regular-season indoor meet, the Binghamton University track and field teams split a tri-meet against the University at Albany and Syracuse University. They now head to Boston University for the America East championships.
The men’s squad performed with flair, grabbing first in numerous events. Senior Dan Walker won the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.57, while sophomore Christian Smith reached first in the 400-meter dash with a mark of 50.72. Freshman Jesse McCormick, who participated in the 500-meter run, placed first in 1:06.26. Binghamton University head coach Mike Thompson displayed nothing but happiness for his sprinters.
“I’m very happy with how they performed,” Thompson said. “It’s that time of year when people are feeling pressure and ready to run. It was a solid performance and they looked where they should be.”
Senior Joanel Lopez did not go unnoticed either, as he achieved a pair of wins in the shot put and weight throw events. Lopez’s distance of 51-5 1/2 in the shot put easily destroyed Kwaku Boah of Syracuse’s second place score of 46-2 1/2. Lopez’s performance in the weight throw yielded similar results, with a 57-11 distance and a winning margin of more than six over fellow teammate, senior Justin Hidalgo. Thompson admitted that Lopez was making great strides and is ready for the championships to get underway.
“It was another solid meet for him,” Thompson said. “The weight throw was a personal best for him. He is a competitor and he’ll be ready to go.”
The men worked as a cohesive unit, concluding the event in first place with 246 points, four more than runner-up Albany. As long as they keep putting in hard work and preparation, they will be a dangerous group come championship time.
The women’s team almost made it a sweep for the Bearcats, but fell short to Albany in team scoring 239-235. Freshman Jess Conter sparked the Bearcats in the 200 meter dash due to her 26.14 tally and first place result. Other top performers include freshman Kaitlin Sullivan and sophomore Rosie DeFino who notched second in the 55 meter hurdles and the long jump, respectively.
The women looked solid, but cannot let one respectable performance hinder the way they expect to compete in the upcoming AE championships. In the biggest tournament of the year, the women will be ready and will focus on the task at hand, according to Thompson.
“They are in good shape,” Thompson said. “We’ll see how much they step it up, but I feel they are ready to go.”
Slated for this Friday and Saturday, the AE championships will commence at Boston University at 10 a.m.