January 28, 2023

The Basics

• The lead: Senior Ronnie Melao finished second in mile to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology men's indoor track & field team Saturday at the Conference Challenge Cup, hosted by Nazareth College. 
• Location: Golisano Training Center - Rochester, N.Y.
• Short Story: Melao placed second in the mile with a time of 4:21.85, missing out on winning the race by eight-hundredths-of-a-second. Although .52 seconds off his previous career best (4:21.33) achieved last week at the NYC Gotham Cup, when track size conversion is taken into consideration, Saturday's time moved Melao into first place on the conference leaderboard. Melao also took 12th in the 800 (1:59.28) to set a new PR by a half-second.
• The Score: Stevens was paired with Misericordia in the Conference Challenge Cup to represent the Middle Atlantic Conference. Both the Ducks and the Cougars totaled 25 points to finish fourth among the five competing leagues. The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) totaled 263 points from Geneseo and Cortland to win the Cup. The Liberty League totaled 223 points to finish second. The Landmark (52) finished third, while the Empire 8 (49) finished fifth.

Top Finishes

• Junior Jake Aylmer placed seventh in the mile with a time of 4:31.98.
• Junior Liam Concannon set a new PR in the 3,000 finishing 14th with a time of 8:51.98, knocking more than seven seconds off his previous best. He climbed into eighth in the conference. 
• Junior Colin Keady had a lifetime best in the weight throw, hitting 13.96 meters on his second attempt.

Key Performances

• Junior Federico Yacoubian posted a time of 8.80 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles preliminary heat, which did not qualify the Denville, New Jersey native for the final, but set a new lifetime best and moved him into fifth place in the conference. He was just .12 seconds from qualifying for the final.
• Senior Kevin Finck finished ninth in the high jump (1.76 meters) and 13th in the 60-meter dash (7.74 seconds) in his first collegiate race in the distance. Finck remains ranked fifth in the conference in the high jump.
• Junior Andrew Anantharajah moved into eighth place in the conference in the pole vault after clearing 3.70 meters.
• Junior Frank Orlando finished fifth in the B Section of the 5,000 in an indoor personal-best time of 16:16.16

From the Sidelines - Head Coach John Kolibab

• "The Conference Cup Challenge is always one of the highlights of our season. Pairing up with Misericordia and going against some of the best teams from other conferences in the area is a perfect way to start the back half of our season. We told the team that this was the meet to really kick things into gear and they responded in a big way."
• "We witnessed a tremendous amount of really incredible performances, which is a great sign with the MAC Championships just four weeks away. On a personal note, I can't remember having as much fun as I did at a track meet in a very long time. Not only is our group performing well, but they're also enjoying the competition and being extraordinarily supportive of each other. We've amassed a very special group of young men and women, and it's been an honor helping them on their journeys."
• "Our men put in quite a few solid performances today. Our throwers were the first standout group, with all six having a lifetime best throughout the day. Colin Keady's PR of three feet in the weight throw was the highlight of the group and it was awesome to see him finally put things together for a big day."
• "Not to be outdone, our middle distance and distance group also chipped in with a smattering of college and lifetime bests. Liam Concannon was the standout here, who not only had a lifetime best in the 3000 meters by around eight seconds, but did it running completely on his own for the majority of the race. Having no one to pace off of in the distance events is very difficult, which is a testament to Liam's fitness and toughness."
• "Federico Yacoubian had a timely breakthrough as well, having a lifetime best in the 60-meter hurdles by over two-tenths-of-a-second. Federico finally ran a clean race and now that he has the rhythm of the hurdles down, he has the potential to melt some serious time off of what he's already accomplished."
• "Our men's squad is a little banged up right now, so having the next weekend off from competition is going to put them in a great place to finish the season strong."

Up Next

• Men's Track & Field heads north for the David Hemery Valentine Invitational, hosted by Boston University on Feb. 10-11. The team will also compete at the PLEX Shootout, hosted by Alvernia University on Feb. 11.

Facebook: "Like" Stevens Athletics         
Twitter: @stevensducks
Instagram: @stevensducks
#AllRise