The Binghamton University men’s track & field squad made history at the America East outdoor track & field championships last weekend at the University of New Hampshire. The team finished in second place, marking the best finish in the program’s history. The women’s team ended the championships in seventh place.
‘The men performed incredibly well,’ head coach Mike Thompson said. ‘If you look at the standings, they have definitely overachieved. The intensity, determination, dedication they showed at the meet paid off.’
The men’s team improved on last season’s third-place finish in the championships.
‘It’s exciting because they had to overachieve to place second and they did it,’ Thompson said. ‘Our goal was to get second place and we did it. [In previous years] men’s teams lost a lot of points in the 10,000 and 5,000. The distance runners are doing extremely well this year. We got more points because of this.’
Leading the way for the men’s team was junior sprinter Cazal Arnett, who earned Men’s Most Outstanding Performer honors. Arnett won individual titles in the 200- and 400-meter dash, with times of 21.41 and 46.62, respectively. He also anchored the 4×400 relay team that set an America East record with a finishing time of 3:10.75, narrowly edging the mark of 3:10.85 set in 2007 by the University at Albany. Junior Christian Smith and freshmen Casey Gilbert and Zach Keefer rounded out the relay squad.
‘It’s exciting to see [Arnett’s] progression,’ Thompson said. ‘He just has to keep on working and stay healthy.’
Freshman distance runner Jeff Martinez earned Men’s Rookie of the Meet honors. His mark of 31:04 in the 10,000-meter run gave him his first career title. He also placed second in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:53.91. Martinez followed in Arnett’s footsteps, as Arnett was named Rookie of the Meet two years ago.
‘[Martinez’s] original goal going in was to place first in the 10,000,’ Thompson said. ‘Once he got second place in the 5,000, we knew he was going to get Rookie of the Meet.’
Gilbert won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 52.80, clinching his first career title. Smith finished sixth in the event with a time of 54.64. Junior Casey Quaglia earned a third-place finish in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:49.14. Keefer’s time of 48.53 notched him a fifth-place finish in the 400-meter dash. Freshman sprinter Dustin Ross took fifth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.20.
The Bearcats had a dominant performance in men’s pole vault, taking the top three spots in the event. Sophomore Robb Quiller won the event with a height of 4.95 meters. Freshman Adam Helman took second with a 4.65 mark, and sophomore John Slaven took third with a 4.50 mark.
According to Thompson, the pole-vaulters were the key in achieving a second-place team finish.
‘The pole-vaulters were probably the ones who made the difference in getting the team to second place,’ he said. ‘We finished first, second and third there.’
The men’s team will be returning nearly its entire team next season and hope to improve enough to win a conference championship.
‘We will have almost everyone back for next year,’ Thompson said. ‘I want to get the young guys to improve on throws and work on the technical and strength aspects.’
Highlights for the women’s squad include Jenna Marrione’s second-place finish in pole vault and freshman Jessica Hennig’s third-place finish in the 400-meter dash. Marrione had a height of 3.30 meters and Hennig finished with a time of 56.32.
Both the men’s and women’s squads are next scheduled to compete at the IC4A/ECAC Championships at Princeton University on May 15 and 16.