Williamson Stars in NECC Men/Women Track Sweep
By Brian DePasquale
Ellakisha Williamson won three events, and Luis Soto and Ronald Edmundson posted winning efforts in the high jump and triple jump to lead Albany to its second consecutive men�s and women�s titles at the New England Collegiate Conference Indoor Track & Field Championship on Feb. 21 at Southern Connecticut State University�s Moore Fieldhouse.
Williamson pulled off a triple-victory performance for the second straight year en route to female athlete of the meet honors. She set a school record in winning the 55-meter dash in 7.01 seconds, and was first across the line in the 55-meter hurdles (7.88) and 200 dash (25.26), sparking the Danes to a clear victory over host Southern Connecticut State for the team title, 192 to 130.
Janna Johnston, a junior, established another school standard to win the high jump competition with a leap of 5 feet, 7 inches. She was also second in the long jump (17-10.25), and was named the meet�s top field-event performer.
Xiomara Davila Diaz won the 400 by nearly two seconds in a time of 57.22, and ran the anchor leg on the winning 4x400 relay team. Other individual champions for Albany were Tamirah Haywood (500) and Andrea Viger (5,000).
The Great Danes men needed victories from Soto and Edmundson in the meet�s final two events to edge out Southern Connecticut State, 205 to 195, for the NECC crown. Soto, who earned the field athlete of the meet award, went 6-10 in the high jump, and was one-quarter inch off David Walker�s 12-year-old Albany mark. He earlier had won the long jump crown at 23-7.
Edmundson, a freshman, posted the fourth school record of the day, when he went 47-10 on his final attempt in the triple jump to overtake Southern Conn�s Frank Biancamano for first. Freshman Greg Miller sprinted a school-record 6.44 seconds to capture the 55-dash crown.
Ben Wright, who competed at the Millrose Games on Feb. 13, won the mile run, while Jayson Vazquez was first in the 55-hurdles. Both athletes repeated as champions from a year ago. Rob Naughter and Andy Rickert, a duo from Guilderland, were victorious in the 1,000 and 5,000-meter competitions, respectively.
"I am surprised by the results," said Albany coach Roberto Vives, who was named NECC women�s coach of the year. "South-ern Connecticut was really up for a challenge on their home track, but our men and women performed exceptionally well � the men with big efforts when tied with two events remaining."
Halim Wise and Brendan Howell also recorded winning times for the men. Wise went 1:06.55 in the 500-meter race, while Howell won the 3,000 in 8:43.90.
Hoopsters Go to 19-7, Await ECAC
Tom McGoldrick scored 17 points to pace five players in double figures as Albany posted its 19th victory of the season with an 86-64 non-conference victory over Southern Vermont on Senior Day at the RACC last Sunday.
Albany (19-7) looked sluggish from an eight-day layoff, but still led 27-22 late in the first half. Matthew Haggarty, who had 10 points and seven rebounds, buried a three-pointer from the left wing for a 34-24 halftime cushion.
The Great Danes, who shot 67 percent in the final period, opened the second half with a 15-5 run to take command. Andre Duncan, named earlier in the week as the New England Collegiate Conference Player of the Year, scored seven of his 16 points in that stretch, before Darrin Jahnel canned consecutive three-point field goals for a 49-29 advantage.
Jahnel, a 6-foot-2 guard, finished with 15 points and six rebounds, and set a single-season record for three-point field goals with 84. Sophomore guard Todd Cetnar added 13 points.
"The pre-game ceremony was special," said Jahnel, who along with Brad Dixon, McGoldrick and Duncan were making their final regular-season appearance at home. "It means a lot to our families, and for us to share that moment with our parents."
The Great Danes are not eligible for NCAA tournament play due to the program�s transition to Division I, but await ECAC Division II tourney bids on Monday, March 2.
Notes: Andre Duncan, the 1998 NECC Player of the Year, was also voted first-team all-conference by the coaches ... Tom McGoldrick was a second-team selection ... Duncan moved into fifth place on the school�s all-time scoring list with 1,425 points ... McGoldrick has 18-game double-figure scoring streak, averaging 16.7 points in that span ... Albany�s 19 victories are its most since 1993-94 ... the Great Danes tied for second in the NECC standings at 11-5 ... "Hoop Games-Great Danes Basketball" airs two more Saturdays (Feb. 28, Mar. 7) this season on WNYT-TV (Ch. 13) from 1:30 to 2 p.m.
Women Danes Finish 14-12 with Win
Megan Buchanan recorded her first career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in Albany�s 62-50 conference victory over Stony Brook at USB Sports Complex on Feb. 14. Albany finished the regular schedule at 14-12 overall, and tied for fourth in the conference with an 8-8 record.
The Great Danes, who held Stony Brook scoreless for nearly nine minutes in the second half, snapped a 46-46 tie with 12 unanswered points to post their sixth winning campaign in the last seven years. Buchanan, a sophomore, scored six points in that stretch, and hit a short jumper to put her team ahead with 7:57 remaining. Freshman Liz Tucker had 12 points, while Dawn DiMicco added 10.
Notes: Kelly Paolino, junior point guard, was voted second-team all-conference by the NECC head coaches ... Paolino averaged 12.2 points, 4.0 assists and a league-leading 3.2 steals per game ... Melissa Schoonover climbed into third place on UA�s career blocks list with 69 ... senior Kerry Ochal tied Kim Koselak�s career record for games played (105) ...
For information on ECAC Div. II men�s and women�s basketball tournament pairings, contact the Albany Sportsline at 518-442-DANE (3263) or visit the Albany athletics web site at www.albany.edu/sports/athletic.html