Vikings Show of Strength: Another 15 Qualifies for Regional Championships
CONTACT: Adam Sopris, a.sopris@hvcc.edu, 518-416-2137 or 518-629-7898
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Saturday, March 30, 2019
Complete Men's Results | Complete Women's Results
The men's and women's track and field teams traveled to the Mount Saint Mary's College Invitational in Newburgh, NY. The men earned 101 points after 15 events and finished in second place behind Queens College, a division II program. The women also had a very strong showing as they finished in eighth place with 25 points. In total, there were 16 teams represented in this meet for both the men and women.
The day started on a high note for Hudson Valley, and there would be no looking back. Mercedes Planavsky (Ballston Spa/Ballston Spa) and Jared Craw (Colonie/Colonie) each took first place in the 5K race. Jared won the race and in the process, he met the qualifying standard for the NJCAA National Championships in the event. Joe DeGiorgio (Troy/Troy) finished in sixth place for the 5K.
The men's 400m relay team of Jericho Sylla (Amherst, Mass./Amherst-Pelham), Devin Kipp (Hudson/Hudson), Noah Vice (Schenectady/Mohonasen), and Mark Blahut (Westfield, Mass./Westfield) were quick to follow up their teammate's success in the very next event. The quartet combined for a fourth-place finish, and earned a spot at the NJCAA National Championships after posting a qualifying time of 44.90. The women's 1600m relay team of Ashley Martinez (Red Hook/Red Hook),Planavsky, Hannah White (Valatie/Ichabod Crane), and Anna Clarke (Bethlehem/Bethlehem) qualified for the NJCAA Nationals Meet and also set a new school record in the event with their fourth-place finish.
Field events proved to be a strong suit on the men's side today as they scored a total of 67 points, and 20 points more than the next best team of Queens College. Elijah Washington (Ballston Spa/Ballston Spa) led the field with two-first place finishes in the javelin and shot put events. Elijah needed to throw a new personal best of 43.52m in the javelin, a NJCAA national qualifying mark, to earn the victory.
Kipp and Immanuel Manera (Greenwich/Greenwich) both followed up Eli's performances in javelin by throwing new personal bests. Manera led the way in discus with a third-place finish, closely followed by Washington and Kipp in seventh and eighth, respectively.
In Shot Put, Washington, Alec Ratelle (Valley Falls/Hoosic Valley), and Kipp finished first, sixth, and seventh respectively. In the long jump, both Rutchlor Louis (Spring Valley/Ramapo) and Sylla had jumps that qualified them for the NJCAA National Championships in May.
Sylla and Chris Mannolini-Adams (Albany/Scotia-Glenville) both scored a fifth and seventh in the triple jump, while Mannolini-Adams joined Vice and Tahj Snow (Spencerport / Spencerport) in the high jump where the Vikings secured three more top-8 performances on the day.
Alexis Holmes (Albany/Guilderland) threw the javelin, shot put, and discus at the meet today. Alexis improved on her season bests in each event and scored a seventh-place finish in all three events. Maejean Dellabarca-Barnes (Dolgeville/Dolgeville), in her first attempt on the season, qualified for the NJCAA Region 3 Championships in the shot put.
Other top performances on the day included, Daniel Foley (Stillwater/Stillwater) and Fabian Kendrick (Castleton/Maple Hill) finishing sixth and eighth in the 110HH, Planavsky finished fifth in the 1500m, Kipp finished fourth in the 100m, and Clarke dropped 13 seconds in the 800m race for a new season best.
The men's and women's track and field programs are back in action next Saturday, April 6 when they travel to compete in the Carla Coffey Invitational.