LIU Track and Field One of NEC Favorites for 2005-06
Indoor Season; Women Picked To Finish Second, Men Selected Third

12/12/05 -- Long Island University’s Track and Field program has been selected to finish second in 2005-06 Northeast Conference women’s track competition according to the annual poll of league head coaches released today.

The men’s team was picked to finish third. Monmouth was picked to capture both the women’s and men’s conference crowns.

The Blackbirds welcome back sophomore Aisha Thomas (Jefferson City, Mo.), last season’s 200-meter gold medalist and Rookie of the Meet at the NEC Indoor Championships. Also returning to represent LIU in the 800 and 500-meter runs are seniors Jaime Smith (Burtonsville, Md.) and Shayla Wallace (Sumpter, S.C.).

Janel McFarlane (Kensington, Md.), Eva Terry (Germantown, Md.), and Crista Strachan (Grand Bahama, Bahamas) round out the Blackbird sprint squad. Last season, LIU claimed second place in the NEC Indoor Finals.

On the men’s side, All-American Bryan Steele (Gaithersburg, Md.) returns for his senior year. Steele placed first in the 500-meter dash with a blistering time of 62.98 in last season’s NEC finals. Classmate Jeremy Bascom (Brooklyn, N.Y.) comes back to compete in the 60-meter dash, as well as fellow sprinters Jabari Bush (Baltimore, Md.) and Leslie Tyrell (Brooklyn, N.Y.).

Ontario native Craig Cocchio will compete in several distance events for the Blackbirds. The men’s team also captured second place in last season’s conference finals.

LIU opened the 2004-05 indoor season on Dec. 4 at the Seton Hall Open. The next meet is the Fordham Invitational on Jan. 6, 2006.

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