Powered by a first-place finish in the pole vault, graduate student Joe Miceli set a Binghamton men’s track and field program record in the decathlon with a score of 7,096 points. He placed 10th out of 20 competitors at the Clyde Littlefield Relays hosted by Texas last Thursday. The rest of the Bearcats competed at the Colonial Relays in Williamsburg, Virginia over the weekend.
On day two of the decathlon, Miceli drove himself into the top 10 with a first-place showing in the pole vault (17-0 3/4) and a second-place finish in the 1,500 meter (4:22.53). In the same event, Texas A&M junior Lindon Victor broke the NCAA record for the decathlon with a score of 8,472 points.
The Clyde Littlefield Relays was the Bearcats’ first competition of the outdoor season.
“It was exciting; it was exactly what [Miceli] hoped it would be,” said BU head coach Mike Thompson.
Based on his performance at the Clyde Littlefield Relays, Miceli has a good chance of moving on to the NCAA East Regional Meet in late May.
At the Colonial Relays, the men’s team finished 12th of 46 schools and the women’s team placed 33rd out of 45. Additionally, Binghamton had some impressive individual performances. Senior Sarah Osaheni took second place in the women’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:01.65. On the men’s side, senior Jon Alkins took third place in the 100-meter dash (10.87) and senior Peter Fagan placed third in the pole vault (16-1).
After a promising start to the outdoor season, Thompson is optimistic about the performance of the team.
“I think we look good,” Thompson said. “We’ll have a better idea in a few weeks. It’s always hit or miss coming back from the break, between the indoor and outdoor seasons. They’ve been out of competition for a month or more, so they’ve just got to get used to competing again.”
The Bearcats are set to compete at the Sam Howell Invitational hosted by Princeton on Friday and Saturday. The meet is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. from Weaver Track and Field Stadium in Princeton, New Jersey.