Complete Results
NEW YORK – The annual Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Indoor Track & Field Championships were held on Friday night at the New Balance Armory Track & Field Center. The Manhattan men's team entered the meet looking to win its 18th consecutive MAAC title, but ended up second behind conference newcomer Monmouth. The Jasper women finished third as a team, as Monmouth captured both championships.
Monmouth won the men's title handily, collecting 169 points. The real battle was for second place. Manhattan entered the final event—the 4x400 meter relay—trailing Iona by three points (105-102). However, the Jasper quartet of Mike DeAngelis (Rahway, N.J.), Sheldon Derenoncourt (Patchogue, N.Y.), Anthony Hall (Mountainville, N.Y.) and Greg Perrier (Dix Hills, N.Y.) finished second in the 4x400 in a time of 3:18.10, earning eight team points. Iona received three points for a sixth-place finish, giving the Jaspers second place overall by two points (110-108).
The Jasper women had a similarly close struggle. Monmouth ran away with the crown with 215.5 points, while Rider was second with 94. Just like on the men's side, the battle for third came down to the last event. Iona entered the 4x400 leading Manhattan by 1.5 points for third place in the team standings. The Jaspers' relay squad of Ieva Vitola (Jekabplis, Latvia), Nicole Mainente (Shirley, N.Y.), Kathy Cadet (Endicott, N.Y.) and Janie Turek (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.) placed fifth, and Iona finished eighth in the event. That three-point swing resulted in the teams flip-flopping places. Manhattan took third with 82.5 points. Iona's team score was 81.
Bianca Marten (Waiblingen, Germany) accounted for 26 team points and was named Most Outstanding Performer for Field Events on the women's side. She won the triple jump with a leap of 12.38 meters (40 feet, 7½ inches), while also finishing second in both the long jump (5.85 m, 19'2½) and 60 meter hurdles (8.76).
Ida Virdebrant (Nobbelle, Sweden), meanwhile, broke a 25-year-old meet record in the women's high jump. Virdebrant didn't enter the competition until everyone else had been eliminated, and she cleared 1.75 m (5'8¾) on her first attempt to surpass the old mark of 1.73 m set by Army's Kim Seminiano in 1989. Other top finishers on the women's team were Lina Bengtson (Malmo, Sweden), who took second in the shot put (13.52 m, 44'4¼), and Lydia Wehrli (Anieres, Switzerland), who secured a third-place finish in the weight throw (17.46 m, 57'3½). On the track, Milena Stoicev (Nis, Serbia) grabbed third place in the 800 meters with a time of 2:15.20.
In the men's 800, Perrier put on a late charge to move into second place, but ultimately ran out of room, finishing just behind Monmouth's Dylan Capwell in 1:50.66. The Jaspers earned the bronze medal in the distance medley relay, as the team of Lucas Bittigkoffer (Neulingen, Germany), Joe Martello (Amawalk, N.Y.), Tom Bonaro (Pearl River, N.Y.) and Jacob Adams (Yonkers, N.Y.) registered a 10:26.33 clocking.
Manhattan's men also had a successful night in the field events. In a great high jump competition where the top two finishers both cleared seven feet, Mohamed Koita (Cergy, France) ended up second with a leap of 2.14 m (7'0¼). Justin Farrenkopf (Ellenville, N.Y.) grabbed second in the pole vault with a clearance at 4.65 m (15'3), while Bobby Gebhard's (Saddle River, N.J.) 14.72 m (48'3½)-effort was good for second in the triple jump. Blerim Pocesta (Staten Island, N.Y.) added a second-place showing in the weight throw (18.18 m, 59'7¾).
In addition, the MAAC All-Academic Teams were announced on Friday. To be eligible, student-athletes must have completed at least two semesters at their institution and have a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or higher. On the men's side, Jacob Adams (Yonkers, N.Y.), Killian Barry (Dublin, Ireland), Jaylen Henderson (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Rokas Kirlys (Kamaji, Lithuania), Ian McGinnis (Philadelphia, Pa.), Kevin O'Brien (Attleboro, Mass.), Savio Paul (Yonkers, N.Y.), Matt Perrelli (Smithtown, N.Y.), Neil Pinnock (Yonkers, N.Y.), Mikael Rojeras (Sala, Sweden) and Tom Voorheis (Syracuse, N.Y.) were honored for their work in the classroom.
The members of the women's team that earned MAAC All-Academic selections were Mainente, Turek, Vitola, Wehrli, Breanna Brucher (Glen Spey, N.Y.), Alexandra Cappello (Scarsdale, N.Y.), Doreen Horschig (Lumpzig, Germany), Alina Koenigs (Moenchengladbach, Germany), Sarah Moore (Irvington, N.Y.), Katie O'Connell (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Alyssa Windle (Redlands, Calif.).
