4x800-Meter Women's Relay Team Captures First Place at Northeast Conference Track and Field Championships

5/6/06 -- The Long Island University women's 4x800m relay team finished in a time of 9:22.97 en route to a first-place finish in the first day of the Northeast Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Emmitsburg, Md. on Saturday.

Seniors Jaimie Smith, Temi Akojie, Shayla Wallace and sophomore Leslie Conley teamed to defeat second-place Quinnipiac by just under nine seconds to pick up the 10 points. As a team, the Blackbirds stand in seventh place on the women's side with 11 points.

Freshman Heather Patton (Bowie, Md.) earned the women's other point as she jumped 5.24m (17-2.25) to finish in eighth place.

On the men's side, a pair of fifth place finishes accounted for the Blackbirds' eight points on the day. Junior Chad Miller leaped 6.91m (22-8) to pick up four points for the squad.

Senior Igdalias Mendez, juniors Craig Cocchio and Kelechuku Okoji, and freshman Edwin Martinez ran the 4x800-meter relay in a time 8:11.09 to close fifth. The foursome were edged by Sacred Heart by just over two-tenths of a second for the fourth spot.

In other action, the men's sprinting team will be well represented in the finals on Sunday. Senior Michael Hillian had the best preliminary times in both the 200 and 400-meter races heading into the finals. His 47.39 time in the 400m was just 13-hundredths of a second off of the NCAA Regional qualifying time.

Senior Jeremy Bascom was also the top preliminary finisher in the 100-meter dash, stopping the clock in 10.59. The Blackbirds will also have three representatives in the 800-meter hurdles finals, as seniors Bryan Steele, Roshawn Aberdeen and junior Rodney Daniel all had qualifying times.

For the women, sophomore Aisha Thomas matched Hillian's feat by clocking top times in two events. Thomas ran the 100-meter dash in 11.73 and followed that with a meet-best 24.66 time in the 200m.

Two more women won preliminaries, as Conley ran the 800-meter run in 2:16.80, nearly three seconds faster than her closest competitor. Senior Chioma Ukpai (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) had a time of 14.20 in the 100-meter hurdles which qualifies her for the IC4A/ECAC meet.

The second day of the 2006 Northeast Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships will commence at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 7.