Kemar Brown could not win the men’s Liberty League indoor track & field championship on his own, but he certainly tried on Saturday, February 11. The junior sprinter was the only Engineer victorious in multiple events at the conference championship meet, taking first in both the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.52 seconds and the 200-meter race in 23.17 seconds.
Despite Brown’s efforts, the RPI men’s team, the reigning league and state champion, relinquished the Liberty League crown to St. Lawrence. The Saints, literally and figuratively, ran away with the title, tallying 223 points compared to RPI’s 170. The Rensselaer women’s track & field squad fared no better, claiming fourth out of four teams with 81 points.
The women’s squad typically struggles in championship meets due to their lack of depth, and that proved to be the culprit yet again. RPI only got wins from three individuals and the 4x400 relay team. Noticeably absent from the winners’ circle was All-League and All-American hopeful Carol Scalice, a consistent point-scorer for the Engineers.
All-American Jen Dias did run—and ran well to lead the women’s team. She took first in the 400-meter, second in the 55-meter hurdles, and was a member of the 4x400 relay team. The junior teamed up with sophomore Marion Albert, and freshmen Sarah Hinz and Kristiina Baker to take the relay’s top spot. Albert had one of RPI’s other first-place finishes in the 200-meter while also taking second in the 55-meter dash. Senior Felicia Tsai’s 15.48 meter toss in the weight throw brought home the Engineers other victory.
The relay races were the most successful events for the Engineers across genders. In addition to the women’s win, both the men’s 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams grabbed first place finishes. Brown was, not surprisingly, behind the 4x200 triumph. He ran the final leg of the race to wrap up a Liberty League-record time of 1:33.59 with juniors Alhassane Diallo and Andrew Stanton and sophomore Justin Schievelbein. Diallo also came in third behind Brown in the 55-meter sprint.
Freshman Brian Rautio combined with classmate Andrew Priggemeier, and juniors Paul Legac and Delroy McEwan to take first in the 4x400. Rautio added to his day by claiming the top spot in the 400-meter individual race. Freshman Deji Akindele-Alo won the 55-meter hurdles in a time of 7.86 seconds to round out the winners for the men’s team.
Both Engineer squads competed in the multi-divisional Marc Deneault Invitational at Cornell this past Saturday. It was the final tune-up for RPI before they have to defend their New York State crown this weekend.
The state title is certainly at risk of being stripped from RPI unless it can eliminate the struggles it suffered at the Liberty League meet. It will also need sudden improvements from several freshmen.
Brown, who was named Liberty League Track Performer of the Week, again showed he was ready for states, setting an ECAC and IC4A record time of 6.98 seconds in the 60-meter sprint in Ithaca. He qualified for the ECAC meet with the performance and also took second in the 200-meter. Legac also won his event, the 500-meter sprint.
