Liberty League Release
TROY, N.Y. - After combining to earn three National All-America certificates at the 2018 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championship, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) student-athletes
Grant O'Connor and
Matt Vitagliano have been chosen as the Liberty League Track and Liberty League Field Performers of the Week, respectively.
A junior, O'Connor (West Hartford, CT / Hall) won the 5000 meters and finished second in the 10000 meters to earn the most points by a male individual while helping the Engineers to a fifth-place team finish. He earned National All-America in the 10000 meters for the second consecutive year, placing second with a time of 30:17:88, which was 30 seconds behind the champion and 14 seconds ahead of the third place finisher. He had negative splits over his final six laps, closing out the race with a 1:09.44 final 400 meters.
Two days later, he earned a national championship in the 5000 meters by edging out the runner-up at the wire to earn his first individual national title and the fourth in school history. He ran a 14:26.03, which included a 59.94 second final lap. A final push over the last 50 meters and a lean at the finish line gave O'Connor the victory by just 0.03 seconds.
Vitagliano (Clear Brook, VA / James Wood), a senior, was seventh in the triple jump to earn National All-America. He finished with a distance of 14.82 meters, which he accomplished on his first jump of the competition. He also had jumps of 14.58 and 14.80, which qualified him for the finals. Vitagliano earned the school's fourth outdoor All-America in the triple jump and the first since Dwaine Alleyne '04 accomplished the feat three times, including his senior season.
https://www.rpiathletics.com/news/2018/5/29/mens-track-and-field-o-connor-vitagliano-honored-with-weekly-awards.aspx
