Track and Field: Four Vikings Qualify for National Championship
Written by: Erik Smith
The Hudson Valley men's and women's track and field team had another strong showing this past weekend at the Pioneer Classic held at Smith College, MA. On route to 18 top-10 finishes and two event wins, the Vikings added to the number of athletes that have qualified for the Division III National Championships being held in May.
Miles James (Rochester/Churchville-Chili) has now qualified for the National Championships in two events. James's performance from two weeks ago in the 200m, and his first-place finish on Saturday in the 400m has earned him a spot to compete for a national title on Saturday May 12th. In order to qualify for the nationals, a student-athlete must surpass a predetermined set of standards by the NJCAA. The national standards in the 200m is 23.52 seconds and 51.51 seconds in the 400m, respectively.
Elijah Washington (Ballston Spa/Ballston Spa) finished in the fourth Place in his first ever competition throwing the hammer. In his second throw, he eclipsed the qualifying mark and is looking forward to competing for a national title on May 10th. Washington also set a new personal best in the javelin throw with a throw of 38.88m, good for seventh place. He also set a new seasonal best of 12.17m in the Shot Put, a fourth place finish.
Mercedes Planvasky (Ballston Spa/Ballston Spa) dropped over seven seconds in the 800m to qualify for the National Meet on May 12th. The national standard for the 800m is 2:42.49.
Alayna Fredenburg (Rotterdam/Schalmont) qualified on her first throw in her first competition throwing the javelin. Fredenburg finished fourth in the competition with a throw of 30.94m.
Alexis Holmes and Devin Kipp (Hudson/Hudson) had a multiple of top-10 finishes. Holmes on the way to a seventh place finish set a new seasonal best in the shot put with a toss of 8.79m. Holmes added another top-10 finish in the discus. Kipp won the 100m dash for the second competition in a row, he cut 0.3 seconds off of his time from two weeks ago. Kipp finished in fifth place of the Shot Put with a seasonal best of 12.08m. Kipp finished in ninth place for the Discus Throw.
Other Top 10 performances included:
Isaac Brightbill (Rensselaer/Rensselaer) finished in fourth place in the pole vault with a jump of 3.50m
Christian Otorubio (Ft. Lauderdale Fla./David Thomas) finished in fourth place the 100m with a seasonal best of 11.86
Noah Vice (Rotterdam/Valatie) had a seventh place showing in the high jump with a leap of 1.68m
Holden Maynard (Rotterdam/Mohonasen) and Ryan Moon (Colonie/Colonie) finished ninth and 10th, respectively, in the 5K race. Maynard dropped close to 45 seconds to earn a new season best and Moon dropped 10 seconds for a new seasonal best.
Brandon Clancy (Rensselaer/Rensselaer) dropped three seconds in his 400m to earn a 10th place finish.
The Vikings will be back at this Saturday 4/14 as they travel to Delhi College for the First Annual Bronco Classic.