New Haven, Conn. (February 3, 2007)?A year ago, senior Darnell Douglas was still in the process of becoming acclimated with his new surroundings after enrolling at Manhattan at the conclusion of the 2005 Fall semester.
One year and two MAAC titles later, Douglas is in mid-season form and is gearing up for his third career MAAC Championship meet, which commences in less than two weeks. After his performance at Yale's Giegengack Invitational on Saturday afternoon, the senior sprinter also guaranteed himself a chance to compete at another championship meet, the IC4A.
Douglas won the men's 400m dash with a season best and IC4A qualifying time of 48.99s. The 2006 MAAC Outdoor Champion in the 200m and 400m also competed in the 200m dash, logging a time of 22.69s.
Although his day was not one his bests, senior hurdler Joe Cruz will join Douglas at the IC4A Championships later this season. On Saturday, Cruz ran the second best preliminary time in the 60m hurdles at 8.33s, but a day after competing at the Millrose Games, the New York City native slipped up in the finals to finish in 12th place (8.65s).
On the distance side, junior Joe McElhoney set a new personal record in the mile with a time of 4:22.60 for 18th place overall. Following McElhoney's lead, freshman Matt Kaftanski recorded a PR in the event as his time of 4:22.73 placed him right behind his teammate in 19th place.
Junior thrower Rich Reuter was also in action at Yale, claiming fourth place by putting the shot 14.85m.
