The New York State Outdoor Championships, hosted by St. Lawrence, may not start until this weekend, but Rensselaer already has 5,603 points from Okechuku Ekwuabu’s amazing second-place performance in the New York State Decathlon. The junior finished in the top three in five separate events on his way to second place overall—he finished second in the high jump, shot put, and discus. Also scoring 4,585 points was sophomore teammate Sean Eosefow, who finished 11th overall.
These top finishes will help propel the team into this season’s biggest event. Commencing at 2 pm Friday and continuing at 10 am Saturday, the state meet is the most important of the year. The men’s team is attempting to defend its streak of four consecutive championships.
Individuals have been training to peak for this one event where they come together as a team and every event counts. Track & Field normally consists of individual events and personal records, but at an event such as this, they are racing for the team not for themselves.
The team will rely on some of the top competitors from this past weekend’s multidivisional RPI Invite held at Harkness Field. Almost sweeping the Liberty League awards, five Rensselaer athletes brought home the conference’s weekly honors.
On the men’s side, senior Lance Chase was again awarded the Field Performer of the Week for destroying the competition and taking all three events he competed in. In the hammer throw, he was over nine meters ahead of his nearest competition, with a distance of 55.88 meters. In the shot, put he threw an even 15 meters and took the discus with a solid 43.74 meters. For a win in the tough 400-meter dash and a top three finish in the 200-meter dash, Brian Rautio was awarded Rookie of the Week for the third time this season. The freshman finished with a time of 50.30 seconds in the quarter mile and 23.69 seconds in the 200-meter.
For the women, junior Jen Dias took home her fifth consecutive Liberty League Track Performer of the week award. She won the 400-meter dash in 57.83—over eight seconds ahead of the runner-up. Dias also won the 100-meter hurdle with a school record time of 15.20 seconds. Freshman Sarah Hinz was named Rookie of the Week for a second-place finish in the 200-meter dash in 26.75 seconds and a third-place time of 13.33 seconds in the 100-meter dash.
For the fourth time this season, junior Felicia Tsai earned the Field Performer of the Week. In typical fashion, Tsai won the hammer throw with an NCAA automatic qualifying and school record throw of 54.61 seconds. She also managed to take the discus event with a throw of 37.75 meters.
Despite additional competition at this year’s state meet, the men’s team is still in good position to make a stand. With strong showings at several meets and a win at the Liberty League Championships, the squad only needs a little luck on their side to defend their string of titles.
