Final Results - Final Team Scores
The 2013 CUNYAC/US Army Indoor Track and Field Championships were held at The New Balance Track and Field Center in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The field was strong with four records being broken and strong times, heights, and distances that emphasized the quality of talent. CCNY was looking to defend their title and did so with a strong 101-point margin of victory. The margin was the largest in championship history. Final scores would see CCNY at 193 points, followed by Medgar Evers at 92 points, York with 73 points, Hunter at 35 points, Staten Island with 21 points, and Lehman at 9 points. The championship would mark the third consecutive time and fifth time overall that CCNY has taken home the men’s title.
“We worked hard at having athletes specialize in events,” said CCNY Head Coach Hugh Reid. “We really aim for nationals. It is great to see the kids come out and set personal bests.”
The meet began with the Distance Medley Relay. CCNY began their title defense with a quick gold medal as the ‘A’ squad finished first at 11:51.73 which was just a couple seconds ahead of Hunter ‘A’ at 11:53.69. York ‘A’ finished with a time of 12:13.63 rounding out the podium. Queensborough ‘A’ finished first overall with a time of 11:15.75.
The 1 mile run would follow with Bertrand Oubida from CCNY coming out on top at 4:41.71. He was followed closely by Andrew Pate from Staten Island who finished at 4:44.69. Bronze was taken by York’s Jason Shaw at 5:01.78. Third place overall was taken by Kevin Lopez of Queensborough at 4:48.48.
The other long race of the day was the 5000 Meter Run. Hunter’s Christian Rojas ran a 17:06.23 to take home gold while Samuel Obisanya from CSI nabbed second at 17:29.10 and Luka Spionjak of Hunter finished third at 18:30.62. Zachary Merced from Queensborough finished first overall at 17:05.05.
In the 400 Meter Dash, Tarik Weekes of York grabbed gold at 50.49 followed by Donald Dibari from CCNY who finished at 51.14 and Dibari’s teammate Anthony Barnes at 51.27. First overall went to All-American Kester Chase of Kingsborough with a time of 48.66 while second overall was awarded to Jovanni Parkinson from Queensborough at 49.68.
800 Meter Run action featured Bertrand Oubida from CCNY finishing first at 1:55.15, a new championship record. York duo Tarik Weekes and Ricardo Chamorro took the final two podium spots with times of 1:59.07 and 2:11.32, respectively. Kingsborough’s Kerone White finished in 1:58.36 placing second overall.
The 60 Meter Dash saw a podium swept by CCNY who had the top four finishers. Thierry Diessongo nabbed his second gold at 6.77 seconds followed by Peter Dehazya at 7.00, Samuel Nkama at 7.07, and Jemaal Alexander at 7.21. Diessongo’s time was good for the championship record.
In the 60 Meter Hurdles, Junior Kennedy from Medgar Evers took gold with a time of 8.73. he was followed by CCNY’s Jonathan Elysee at 9.34 and fellow Cougar Kadeem Campbell grabbed bronze at 11.25. Overall, Amin Garcia from Kingsborough finished first with a time of 8.39 seconds. The mark sets a new conference record.
The 200 Meter Dash saw a podium sweep by the Beavers of CCNY. Thierry Diessongo would take home another gold medal with a time of 21.93. Teammates Garnet Vanterpool and Jemaal Alexander rounded out the podium at 22.66 and 22.91, respectively. Michael Camacho and Kester Chase of Kingsborough would finish second and third overall at 22.48 and 22.51, respectively.
Track events ended with the 4x400 Meter Relay. In the event, the Beavers’ Anthony Barnes, Donald Dibari, Bertrand Oubida, and Cosmin Sandru came in first at 3:27.83. York’s ‘A’ squad came in second at 3:31.49 while Medgar Evers’ ‘A’ snagged third at 3:39.32. Queensborough ‘A’ finished first overall at 3:27.02.
Field events began with the Long Jump in which Thierry Diessongo of CCNY flew 6.90 meters for gold. The distance made him the championship record holder. He was followed by teammate Peter Dehazya at 6.53 meters and Hunter’s Javier Levy with a distance of 6.50 meters. Alex Roach from Queensborough placed second overall with a distance of 6.29 meters.
The Weight Throw had York’s Steve Burnett snagging the gold medal as he threw 12.60 meters. Samuel Nkama from CCNY threw 12.59m and Elston Alexis of Medgar Evers threw 12.33m to round out the podium.
In the High Jump, the Cougars’ Kadeem Campbell took home the gold with a height of 1.87 meters. Paul Dedewo of CCNY snagged silver at 1.82 meters while Jomo Bullen, also of Medgar Evers, finished third at 1.77 meters.
The Triple Jump featured Samuel Nkama from CCNY taking home gold at 14.23 meters. Campbell of Medgar Evers was second at 13.48m while York’s Michael Tomlin finished in third at 12.79m. Amin Garcia of Kingsborough finished third overall with a distance of 13.97 meters.
Events ended with the Shot Put where Medgar Evers took home the top two medals. Elston Alexis and Leston Alexis threw for 14.87m and 13.28m, respectively. Coming in third was CCNY’s Samuel Nkama at 12.36m
For his efforts, Thierry Diessongo from CCNY was named the CUNYAC/US Army Most Valuable Performer. He compiled 30 individual points while breaking two records and nearly breaking a third.
“It took a lot of work to make this happen,” said Diessongo. “I usually have my mood down but my teammates told me to bring my mood up and I think it made a difference.”
