Bridgewater, NJ – After winning its second straight Northeast Conference (NEC) women’s indoor track and field crown in 2023, Central Connecticut has its mind on a three-peat this winter.

The Blue Devils were selected as the conference preseason favorite, but it came down to a photo finish.
 
CCSU received five of nine possible first-place from the league’s head coaches in the annual preseason poll.
 
Following closely behind with the remaining four first place votes in second was Saint Francis U, which is seeking its first-ever women’s indoor title.
 
2023 women’s cross country champion Stonehill was tabbed third in the poll along with LIU coming in at No. 4.
 
Sacred Heart claimed fifth ahead of 2023 indoor runner-up Wagner at sixth and Merrimack at seventh. Rounding out the poll in the final two spots were FDU (eighth) and league newcomer Le Moyne (ninth).
 
The nine teams will compete for the 2024 NEC Indoor crown at Ocean Breeze, which has hosted the annual meet since 2016. The two-day event, which features 17 events (15 individual, 2 relay), is tentatively set for February 18-19 at the Staten Island venue.
 
The defending champion Blue Devils return one gold medalist from last season’s squad in Alissa Hurd (Junior/Southbury, CT), who took home the high jump title in 2023.
 
Despite losing graduate student and eight-time indoor track title winner Angie Rafter, CCSU brings back a pair of top-three finishers in distance events from last season’s championship meet in Brooke Morabito (Senior/New Milford, CT) and Ashley Dana (Senior/Durham, CT). Morabito finished second in the mile, 3000 meters and the 5000 meters last season - all behind Rafter - while Dana took home the silver in the 800 meters and the bronze in the mile.
 
With three straight outdoor track and field titles and a third place cross country finish under their belt, Saint Francis U will look to break through on the indoor scene in 2024. The Red Flash should be strong in the distance events with three cross country All-NEC honorees in Tesslyn Helms (Junior/Pittsburgh, PA), Anna Quackenbush (Freshman/Mount Airy, MD) and Morgan McNaughton (Sophomore/Summerville, PA). Helms took second at the meet and Quackenbush was named the NEC Freshman of the Year.
 
Fresh off its first-ever NEC title this fall in cross country, Stonehill will look to keep the momentum rolling in indoor track. Junior Madison Rousseau (Canton, MA/Canton) is back after finishing second last year in the 60 hurdles. The Skyhawks also return a trio of istance runners who claimed All-NEC honorsat the NEC Cross Country meet: Emma Lawrence (Junior/Milford, MA), Jordan Malloy (Sophomore/Colchester, CT) and Kelli Harrington (Freshman/Pittsfield, MA). 
 
LIU returns two gold medalists in the throwing events from 2023. Sade Panton (Senior/Upper Marlboro, MC) looks to repeat as the shot put champion while Faith Shaw (Senior/Westbury, NY) will go for gold again in the weigh throw. Both Shaw and Panton finished second in the events that the other won as well.
 
2023 NEC Outstanding Rookie Performer Magdalena Brogioli (Sophomore/Mattapoisett, MA), who claimed silver in the high jump, is back in the fold for Sacred Heart.
 
After coming in second in the team standings at last season’s meet, Wagner is led by Ruth-Ann Chambers (Junior/Kingston, Jamaica), who earned silver in the 400 meters and tacked on points in the 60 meters.
 
Ava Mahoney (Senior/Marblehead, MA) is coming off an individual cross country title and will look to earn points for the Warriors during the indoor season. She took bronze in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters last winter. 

About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 43rd season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of nine institutions of higher learning located throughout five states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Boston (#9). Hartford/New Haven (#34) and Syracuse (#85). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 24 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 15 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Central Connecticut, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Merrimack, Sacred Heart, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.