Track and Field National Championships a Success
The Vikings men's track and field team finished in seventh place with 41.5 points. The team was as high as fourth place at times and the women's team was as high as seventh place during competition and finished in 11thplace with 18 total team points.
Devin Kipp (Hudson/Hudson) ran 11.10 in his 100m preliminary race and qualified for the finals as the seventh seed. Kipp crushed his old personal best of 11.30. In the finals, Kipp exceeded his seed and finished fifth overall. Jamison Jarosz (Schaghticoke/Hoosic Valley) finished fifth in the High Jump with a leap of 1.83m.
The Men's 400m Relay of Christian Otorubio (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./David Thomas), Kipp, Brandon Clancy (Rensselaer/Rensselaer), and Noah Vice (Rotterdam/Valatie) ran a season best of 44.25 to reach Saturday's finals. The Vikings 100m Relay team of Otorubio, Kipp, Clancy, and Miles James (Rochester/Churchville-Chili) finished with a time of 45.39, which was good enough for sixth place.
James, not too long after finishing the relay, ran in the finals of the 400m. James finished in sixth place with a time of 51.92.
Alayna Fredenburg (Rotterdam/Schalmont) finished in third place in the pole vault with a new personal best of 2.31m, her second personal best in as many weeks.
Mercedes Planavsky (Ballston Spa/Ballston Spa) finished in fifth place in the 1500m on Saturday. Planavsky's time of 5:22.07 beat her season best by 16 seconds, a mark set just last week.
The conclusion of the NJCAA National Championships brings an end to a successful first season for the men's and women's track and field teams at Hudson Valley. The Vikings are excited to carry their momentum into next season and beyond.