Six Rensselaer track and field athletes were named Academic All-Americans in the last few weeks of the outdoor season. During this time the team completed their championship season, competing in the New York State Collegiate Track Conference meet, the ECAC regional meet, and the NCAA outdoor championship meet. The men’s team won the state meet and placed fifth at ECACs while the women captured second place at the state meet and seventh at the regional meet.
The teams’ Academic All-Americans ranged from experienced senior athletes to an outstanding freshman. Those who received the honor were: seniors Dwaine Alleyne, Sharath Alampur, Joe Otto, juniors Rebecca Lock and Jim Motzkin, as well as freshman Jen Dias. These athletes also qualified and performed well in several of the championship meets.
Highlights from the NYSCTC and ECAC meets included several of the season’s top performers as well as the All-American athletes. For the women, Dias ran the 400m hurdles in both meets, winning the event at NYCTC meet in 1:03.41 and placing third at ECAC’s with 1:03.86. Lock also ran the 400m hurdles at the state meet placing third in the event with a time of 1:06.17.
Dias and Lock also helped lead the 1600m relay team to win the state meet in 3:58.64 as well as place third in the time of 4:00.18 at the ECAC meet with teammates Michelle Fisher, Alysia Evanitsky, and Alyssa Coffey. Coffey later placed second in the 800m run at the state meet in 2:17.80. Meanwhile, in the field events, freshman Sue Madden captured another second place with a mark of 41ft 11.25in in the shot put.
The men’s team performances were equally successful through the championship season with a particularly strong performance by Otto who won the 800m run at NYCTC meet in 1:53.81. Otto also led the 1600m relay team to a second place finish of 3:21.51 at the state meet with the help of his teammates Brett Perron, Paul Legac, and Owen Kellett.
Other leading scorers at the state meet included Alleyne, who won the 110m hurdles in 15.25 as well as the triple jump with a mark of 45ft 1.75in, and teammate Trevor Tersmette, who won the high jump with a height of 6ft 4.75in and placed third in the 400m hurdles in 55.87.
At ECACs, Kemar Brown was the team’s top performer, placing second the 100m dash in 10.75. Brown also captured third in the 100m dash at the state meet with 11.15 and second in the 200m dash at states in the time of 22.52.
In field events, Jack Miller placed second for the team at the state meet with a 139ft 5in throw in the discus event. At ECACs, Jim Motzkin captured second place in the javelin throw with 214ft 2in.
Finishing off the season was a select group of athletes, including many All-Americans, who qualified and competed in the NCAA meet. On the women’s team, Alison Benson tied for 13th place in pole vault with a height of 11ft 2.5in, and Dias placed seventh in the 400m hurdles with her time of 62.87. Alleyne placed second in the triple jump for the men’s team, with a mark of 48ft 11.75in and Motzkin placed third in the NCAA meet with a distance of 209ft in the javelin throw. The top eight athletes in each event win All-American status.
The track team has witnessed two great seasons this past year with many leading performances from graduating seniors as well as first year athletes who promise exciting performances in the next few years. At the present, some of the athletes are transitioning into the fall cross-country season, while others continue training to maintain their success.
