Rams, Tigers earn team titles at ECAC/IC4A Indoor Championships
BOSTON – The ECAC/IC4A Indoor Track and Field Championships concluded on Sunday, with the Rhode Island men and the women of Towson closing out the weekend with the team trophies. The Rams finished with 103 points as a group, while the Tigers ended with 84 to hold off efforts from James Madison and Richmond.
Rebeca Valerie Barrientos Alpha of Albany opened the day with a win in the women’s triple jump, doing so with a mark of 12.40m (40’ 8¼”), while LIU junior Phillip Baynes Jr. 14. (14.55m/47’ 9”) set a new PR to claim the men’s crown. Arran Fahey of Mount St. Mary’s then finished atop the podium in the men’s pole vault behind a height of 5.10m (16’ 8¾”).
Rider’s Jayden Dubard (16.88m/55’ 4¾”) hauled in the men’s shot put title, and LIU sophomore Nilaja Wiltshire (15.04m/49’ 4¼”) closed out the field events with an individual win in the women’s shot put.
On the track, Will Stephenson (8.17) of Mount St. Mary’s took home the conference title in the men’s 60 hurdles, while JMU teammates Jordyn Henderson (8.38) and Kam’Dyn Thomas (8.65) turned in a 1-2 finish in the women’s race. Rodolfo Sanchez of Fordham snagged first in the men’s mile behind a time of 4:09.97, while Navy’s Alexandra Wercinski (4:46.23) held off Fordham’s Katarina Birimac (4:46.75) in a tight finish on the women’s side.
Manhattan’s Darion Lopez (6.85) ended up in front of a crowded men’s 60m final, narrowly defeating St. Peter’s senior Delano Gooden (6.87) and Vermont’s Alex Siaton (6.89) rounding out the top three. Maya Tucker of Towson (7.60) took home the women’s crown in another photo finish, with JMU’s Kaia Putman (7.62) and Loyola’s Lauryn Clarke (7.64) finishing on her heels.
Sam Freeman (47.77) of Fordham produced a new PR to take home the men’s 400 title, and Towson’s Piper Jons (52.40) emerged as the women’s champion after turning in the second-best mark in meet history. St. Joseph’s freshman Tommy Silvester (1:03.07) came away with first in the men’s 500, followed by Morgan Elliott (1:14.11) of Richmond picking up a PR en route to an individual title.
Joe dosReis gave Rhode Island another event win with a time of 2:23.19 in the men’s 1K, followed by Richmond’s Dylan Miller taking home the women’s title with a new PR time of 2:49.94. Iona teammates Peter Fogarty (8:15.05) and Crock Crockett (8:17.95) both turned in season-bests in the men’s 3K for a 1-2 finish, and Bucknell junior Caryn Rippey (9:44.56) edged Olivia Lutkevich (9:44.65) in the women’s 3K.
Rhode Island teammates Antonio Capalbo (1:51.31) and Maddox Jordan (1:51.66) finished atop the podium in the men’s 800, and Bryant’s Shelby Degrenier (2:09.62) held off a pair of Richmond runners in a photo finish. Fordham freshman Njaminaweh Abdul Latif (21:00) ended as the fastest sprinter in the men’s 200 finals, and Jons (23:34) came up with her second win of the day in the women’s race behind a new meet record.
The St. Joseph’s team of Will Rau, Chris Manzo, Elijah Smith and Michael Glavin hauled in first place in the men’s distance medley relay, as their mark of 9:54.05 was more than nine full seconds ahead of second place. On the women’s side, Alayna Gifford, Esther Germain, Merrick Mock and Kylie Brooks teamed up to give JMU an event win, doing so with a time of 11:51.97.
Northeastern picked up a season-best time of 7:33.79 in the men’s 4x800 relay, as Ajay Raina, Conall Rogers, Cian Gara Grady and Ryan Gruczka shared the top of the podium. St. Joseph’s dominated the women’s 4x800 relay, with Quinn O’Brien, Alexis Westawski, Gemma Chevoor and Tess Crossan turning in a time of 8:55.12, more than 22 seconds ahead of second.
Coppin State’s group of Jarrett Gentles, Jayeed Norbal, Daniel Cunningham and Asa Francis produced a new season-best in the men’s 4x400 relay behind a first-place time of 3:11.19. The final event of the weekend saw Maya Tucker, Jasmine Scott, Cristal Cuervo and Jons give Towson a win in the women’s 4x400 relay, turning in a season-best time of 3:39.97.
Jons was named the Women’s Performer of the Meet, while Rhode Island’s Matthew Santy took home Men’s Performer of the Meet honors. The duo combined for five first-place finishes and two meet records over the last three days.