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Emmitsburg, MD - The Hawks reached the perch atop the men’s and women’s team standings in 2008 and haven’t moved since.
No team other than Monmouth has won either the men’s or women’s team title at the Northeast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships since Sacred Heart claimed both 48 months ago.
After sweeping the team titles at the conference’s indoor championships this past February, Monmouth heads into the two-day outdoor meet as the favorite to win a fourth consecutive crown on both the men’s and women’s sides.
Sacred Heart, however, has other ideas.
Christian Morrison’s Pioneers have both the aspiration and potential to dethrone Monmouth, but it won’t be easy. On the men’s side, Central Connecticut, LIU Brooklyn, 2011 runner-up Robert Morris, and host Mount St. Mary’s will also be on the mix.
In its quest for a fourth straight women’s team title, Monmouth will have to contend with deep Sacred Heart squad and a LIU Brooklyn team that features a number of the league’s top-ranked sprinters, hurdlers, and jumpers.
The 2011 Most Valuable Performers on both the men’s and women’s sides are back in 2012.
Sacred Heart junior Jeremy Rosado won both men’s hurdle events last May en-route to the MVP award and a repeat performance would only help the Pioneers’ team title quest.
Meanwhile, an era is set to end on the women’s side where LIU Brooklyn’s Jessie Gaines has dominated over her four season with the Blackbirds. Gaines, arguably the best there ever was in NEC Track & Field, will look to close out her career with what would be a seventh NEC MVP award. The native Virginian claimed MVP honors indoors for the fourth time this past February and is the reigning two-time MVP of the conference’s outdoor meet.
Gaines holds the 100m dash meet record and will look to add the all-time hurdles mark. She also threatens to break the long and triple jump records as her seed marks in both events are better than the current records.