Men's Track and Field 5/14/2016 11:10:56 PM

CCNY Wins CUNYAC/Army ROTC Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship

COMPLETE RESULTS
CUNYAC Men's Outdoor Track & Field Presented by the Army ROTC

The 2016 CUNYAC/Army ROTC Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships took place on Saturday, May 14th at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island. The CCNY Beavers won the championship with a 152 point effort. They just barely edged out the York Cardinals, who finished in second with 145.5 points. Hunter came in third place with 79.5 points. Medgar Evers scored 71 points and Lehman rounded out the field with 43 points.

"This has been exhilarating," said head coach Hugh Reid about winning the championship. "This has been a very challenging year for us. We had a lot of new people. We got a good challenge from York and the other teams, but our kids just rose to the occasion. Everyone wanted to win and their was a lot of pride behind us."

In the first men's event of the day, the team of CCNY finished in first, arriving in 43.49 seconds. The group got to the finish line in just .10 seconds before Lehman College, barely edging them out in a close finish. Arriving in third was York College, clocking in at 43.71 seconds

In the men's 3000 meter steeplechase, Walter Rodriguez from Hunter completed the run in 11:11.16. His time was a little bit more than 3 seconds ahead of his teammate Stephen O'Shea, who finished in second place with a time of 11:11.20. CCNY's Albert Leonardo rounded out the top three by finishing in 11:25.98.

The men's high jump was a very close competition. Medgar Evers' Johan Jimenez jumped 1.91 meters to take first place in the event. York's Samson Adeniyi and Elliott Rogers both tried to outjump Jimenez and leapfrog him in the standings, but they would have to settle for second and third place, respectively. Adeniyi came in at 1.86 meters while Rogers got up to 1.81 meters.

The hammer throw is where York showed it's muscle. A pair of teammates won first and second place with strong throws. Nosa Edionwe earned the gold medal by throwing the hammer 44.32 meters while Randall Santamaria got silver as he threw it 43.81 meters. CCNY's Steve Baker took third with a throw of 42.36 meters.

CCNY would dominate the triple jump as two participants took home the top two medals. Justin Herbert and Bradley Brown finished a very close first and second, respectively. The teammates' jumps were only separated by a mere .05 meters, with Herbert getting up to 13.30 meters high and Brown to 13.25 meters. Third place went to York's Anson Webb, who finished with a height 12.00 meters.

In the 1500 meter run, York's Rogers arrived in first place with a time of 4:21.05. Trailing him was Hunter's Rodriguez, who came in .88 seconds behind at 4:21.93. Third place went to Yamikani Phiri from Medgar Evers. He finished just .02 seconds ahead of fourth place to take home the bronze medal with a time of 4:22.63.

York placed first in the 110 meter hurdles. Osahon Odigie got through the hurdles in 16.35 seconds to leave with the gold medal. CCNY teammates Brown and Jeckesan Mejia took second and third place, respectively. Brown made it in 16.99 seconds while Mejia did so in 18.61 seconds.

The 100 meter dash ended with Medgar Evers on top. Jamell Dacon finished in 10.79 seconds, besting the second place finisher by .25 seconds to earn the gold medal. In second place was CCNY's Jashane Morrison, who arrived in 11.04 seconds. Third place went to Atta Boateng from Hunter who finished in 11.08 seconds.

In the 400 meter dash, York finished in first while Lehman took second and CCNY took third. Roshane Wright crossed the finish line in 50.52 seconds to claim the gold medal. Darian Livingston finished close behind in 50.76 seconds. Aaron Dickens took the bronze medal with a time of 51.59 seconds.

Hunter's Diego Buen took first place in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 57.06 seconds. CCNY's Andrew Simon arrived in second place after clocking in at 58.20 seconds. Third place went to York's Odigie with a time of 58.84 seconds.

CCNY's teammates Baker and Mejia took home first and second place in the javelin throw, respectively. Baker finished with a 46.03 meter throw while Mejia threw it 43.81 meters. York's Santamaria was a close third as he threw it a distance of 43.63 meters.

Medgar Evers found themselves back on top when the shot put was completed. Christopher Pinto threw for 13.77 meters to earn the gold medal. CCNY took second and third place with Harrison Foley's 12.86 meter distance and Mejia's 12.69 meter throw.

Dacon from Medgar Evers proved his speed once again in the 200 meter dash. He clocked in at 22.08 seconds to earn the gold in a photo finish. Lehman's Livingston was just .03 seconds behind Dacon, settling for second place with a 22.11 second time. Third place went to Hunter's Boateng, who finished with a time of 22.48 seconds.

York's Wright showed how far he can jump in the triple jump. He earned first place with a 6.46 meter jump. Second place was CCNY's Herbert, who landed a distance of 6.35 meters. In third place was Medgar Evers' Jimenez as he recorded a 6.05 meter distance.

York once again took home a gold medal. This time, it was Ajani Kerr who did the job, running a 2:06.87 in the 800 meter meter run. Hunter's Alexander Perez finished in second place with a 2:07.18 finish while Medgar Evers' Phiri arrived in 2:07.41 to take third place.

Finally, in the 5000 meter run, Hunter's Rodriguez earned the gold medal after completing the event in 17:07.94. York's Rogers arrived in second place, finishing with a time of 17:15.73. Joshua Roman from Lehman picked up third place by crossing the finish line in 17:22.82.

"The theme this year was to persevere through all of the injuries and the various other things we had. I think the athletes just decided that no matter what, they were going to come out and leave it on the line. We had event after event after event of people just giving 110 percent and pushing themselves," said coach Reid. "The kids set out to write their names in the annals of history. They gave everything that they had and I really appreciate that so much. This has just been an exceptional year and I'm just really proud of them. It's just amazing."

Walter Rodriguez was named Most Valuable Performer for the Championship. His individual accolades included two gold medals and one silver medal.

"I was just trying to run for my team," said Rodriguez about his performance. "I was just trying to score points for them. This was my last outdoor race ever [in college], so I was just trying to leave it all out there." About his final races, Rodriguez said, "It was like an emotional roller coaster. It's a little saddening but I'm happy. Both teams [indoor and outdoor] worked so hard this year."

With this win, CCNY takes home their sixth championship in a row. It was also their seventh overall championship in school history.