Women's Track and Field Team Captures Northeast Conference Championship; Thomas Named Most Valuable Performer |
|
||
(Complete
Results and Scores) The Blackbirds won five events and set a new NEC record in the 4x400m relay. In the final event of the day and with a second-place finish necessary to secure the crown, the team of Leslie Conley, Jaimie Smith, Shanequa Warren and Aisha Thomas edged Monmouth's foursome by six-tenths of a second to take home first place. Thomas also won two individual titles in the 100 and 200-meter dashes and was a member of 4x100m en route to being named the 2006 Women's Outstanding Performer. The Jefferson City, Mo. native was also named Outstanding Track Performer for the second consecutive season. Smith was the other individual winner for LIU, posting a time of 2:13.39 to win the 800-meter title. Freshman Tavia Burke (St. Catherine, Jamaica/St. Andrews) won Rookie of the Meet honors after finishing second to Thomas in both the 100m and 200m dash. She also ran for LIU in the 4x100m relay and finished third in the 100-meter hurdles. "We did everything we could have done for this championship," head coach Julia Sandiford said. "Three years ago, we lost by one-half point and to win this year makes it extra special." Sandiford also took home hardware as she was named the NEC Women's Coach of the Year. In her sixth season at the helm, Sandiford also won the Indoor Women's Coach of the Year Award earlier this season. On the men's side, senior Michael Hillian (Voorhies, N.J.) won the Outstanding Track Performer award for the second straight year as he helped his team to a fourth-place finish. Hillian won the 200 and 400-meter dashes and was a member of the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relay squads that each captured first place. His time in the 400-meter run of 46.35 also qualifies him for the NCAA East Regional later this month. Senior Bryan Steele (Gaitherburg, Md.) took second in the event with a time of 46.84, also good enough to qualify for the NCAA Regionals. Steele also won the 400-meter hurdles for the second consecutive season, narrowly missing the NEC record time by 22-hundredths of a second. Steele teamed with Hillian and classmates Roshawn Aberdeen and Leslie Tyrell for the 4x400m title. Women's Team Scores
| |||
5/7/06
-- For the
first time in school history, the Long Island University
women's track team won the Northeast Conference Women's Outdoor
Track and Field Championship on Sunday.