RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Manhattan College has swept the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) indoor track & field weekly honors, the conference office announced on Tuesday. Albert Johnson III (Painted Post, N.Y.) was recognized as the men's Performer of the Week, while Heidy Palacios (Yonkers, N.Y.) was named MAAC Performer of the Week on the women's side.
Competing in the long jump for the first time this season, Johnson uncorked a leap of 7.52 meters (24 feet, 8¼ inches) to secure first place at the Albany Great Dane Classic on Friday. With that mark, Johnson qualified for both the Metropolitan and IC4A Championships. He also ran the 200 meters on Friday, qualifying for Mets in a time of 22.59 seconds.
Palacios finished first in the 500 meters at the Great Dane Classic, cracking the 1:20 barrier for the second time this season with a 1:19.95 clocking. She had already qualified for the ECAC Championships in the event. In addition, Palacios qualified for Mets in the 200 on Friday, finishing in 25.65 seconds.
This marks the fourth time in his career that Johnson has earned MAAC Performer of the Week honors, while Palacios has been recognized twice previously. They join Roman Ewald (Olching, Germany) (Dec. 6) and Karolin Wagner (Ribbesbuettel, Germany) (Dec. 13) as Manhattan's MAAC weekly award winners this season.
Manhattan's first championship meet of the season, the Metropolitan Championships, is this weekend. Action gets underway with the weight throw, pole vault and multi-event competitions at Draddy Gymnasium on Thursday, while the remaining field events and all running events will be held at the New Balance Armory Track & Field Center on Friday.
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