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Staten Island, NY - Sacred Heart’s depth once again proved too much for LIU Brooklyn. The Pioneers piled up 150 points en-route to a third consecutive women’s team title.
A trio of SHU distance runners – Jennifer Hahne (18), Alexandra Kaeslin (16) and Shannon Hickey (16) – combined for 50 points. Meanwhile, Mareena DiMilia tallied 11 points for the Pioneers in the throws.
Sacred Heart’s Nicole Bartosch didn’t earn an official major post-meet award, but her contributions were both vast and important. The Pentathlete scored in two jumps – long (third), high (fourth) – as well as the 200m dash (fourth) and the 60m hurdles (fourth). Bartosch ran ECAC qualifying times in both the dash and hurdles.
LIU, a six-time team champion since 2002, made a run at the crown with 143 points, but finished second for the third year in a row. The Blackbirds produced a pair of major post-meet individual award winners.
Kyaira Wright-Harmon won the triple jump and high jump to capture the NEC Most Outstanding Field Performer (Jumper) award for the second year in a row. Meanwhile, LIU teammate Cassandra Jones racked up 21 points in the sprints, including a victory in the 500m, en-route to securing the Most Outstanding Sprinter honor.
Gabriella Ade-Onojobi (60 hurdles), Anise Cuffee (60m dash) and Stephanie Adioo (200m dash) all scored victories for the Blackbirds on the track. Adioo ran 24.48 to set a meet record, surpassing the mark that former Mount St. Mary’s star Ashley DeCruise (24.59) registered in 2011 at PG County Sports & Learning Complex in Landover, MD.
In addition to Adioo, Fairliegh Dickinson sophomore half-miler Mae Thompson set a meet record on the track. The British-born Thompson won the 800m run in 2:12.24, almost one full second better than what previous record holder – Saint Francis U’s Erika Jacobs (2:13.21) -- ran in 2007.
Brittany Mendelson turned in an MVP caliber effort to power Central Connecticut to a third-place team finish. The Blue Devils totaled 72 points, 20 of which came from Mendelson’s individual wins in the 3,000m run and the mile.
Mendelson, who captured the NEC Most Outstanding Distance Runner award to go along with MVP honors, carried CCSU’s DMR team to a come-from-behind victory with an amazing anchor leg.
Saint Francis U received 14 points from thrower Jordan Collins thanks to her runner-up showing in the weight throw following Friday’s third-place showing in the shot put. Those efforts landed her the NEC Most Outstanding Field Performer (Thrower) award.
FDU freshman Sarakaye Freeman medaled in both horizontal jumps – long (second), triple (third) – on her way to snagging the NEC Most Outstanding Rookie Performer accolade. The Knights, whose 54 points landed them sixth, received 10 from weight thrower Naomi Hines. The Bronx product struck gold in the event for the second straight year.
Most Valuable Performer (MVP): Brittany Mendelson, CCSU
Most Outstanding Track Performer (Sprints): Cassandra Jones, LIU
Most Outstanding Track Performer (Distance): Brittany Mendelson, CCSU
Most Outstanding Field Performer (Jumps): Kyaira Wright-Harmon, LIU
Most Outstanding Field Performer (Throws): Jordan Collins, SFU
Most Outstanding Rookie Performer: Sarakaye Freeman, FDU
Final Women's Team Scores
- Sacred Heart, 150
- LIU Brooklyn, 143
- Central Connecticut, 72
- Mount St. Mary’s, 68.5
- Robert Morris, 55.5
- Fairleigh Dickinson, 54
- Saint Francis U, 45
- Wagner, 34
- Bryant, 33
- St. Francis Brooklyn, 7