The RPI men’s and women’s indoor track & field teams spent the weekend in Rochester, N.Y., competing in the New York State Indoor Track & Field Championships. The Red Hawk men were unable to three-peat as champions, finishing fifth in the 15-team field. The women’s squad dropped two spots from last year, coming in sixth overall.
On the men’s side, junior Kemar Brown led the way with a victory in the 55-meter dash and a third-place finish in the 200-meter dash. The St. Albans, N.Y., native was also a part of the 4x200-meter relay team that came in fourth. For his efforts, the Liberty League named Brown Track Performer of the Week for the second consecutive week, and the fourth time this season.
Sophomores Adedeji Akindele-Alo and Andrew Coye also made noise at the state meet. Akindele-Alo made an NCAA provisional cut while winning the 55-meter hurdles in a time of 7.74 seconds. Coye, a distance runner, finished third in the 1000-meter run in a time of 2:34.22.
Junior sprinter Paul Legac also earned points for the Red Hawks with a fourth-place finish in the 500-meter dash.
Senior Jason Legault and freshman Justin Metzger tallied major points for RPI in the field. Legault and Metzger finished second and fifth, respectively, in the pole vault competition with heaves of 4.56 and 4.41 meters, respectively.
The women enjoyed several victories on the track and in the field. On the track, the relay quartet of junior Jen Dias, sophomore Marion Albert, and freshmen Kristiina Baker and Sarah Hinz tallied wins in both the 4x200-meter and 4x400-meter relays.
Dias and Albert also excelled individually, as Dias finished third in the 500-meter dash, and Albert was victorious in the 400-meter dash. Albert’s time of 59.26 seconds in the event shattered the facility record—previously held by Dias.
Senior Felicia Tsai and junior Sue Madden led the Red Hawks in the field. Tsai made an NCAA provisional cut in the weight throw as she finished second with a toss of 15.96 meters. Madden, meanwhile, dominated the shot put event, taking first with a throw of 12.36 meters.
Carol Scalice also contributed to the RPI point total with her fourth-place finish in the long jump. The junior recorded a leap of 5.06 meters.
The Liberty League awarded a hat-trick of honors to the women’s squad as Albert was named Co-Track Performer of the Week; Hinz was named Co-Rookie of the Week; and Madden was named Field Performer of the Week. It was the first such honor of the season for both Hinz and Madden, and it was Albert’s second accolade of the year.
Both squads will now spend the week preparing for this weekend’s ECAC Indoor Track Championship hosted by Ursinus College.
