Aisha Thomas Named Women's Rookie of the Meet; Women's and Men's Track Close Second at NEC Championships

2/12-13/05 -- Freshman Aisha Thomas (Jefferson City, Mo.) was tabbed Women's Rookie of the Meet for Long Island, which saw it women's and men's teams finish second at the Northeast Conference Championships in Landover, Md.

Thomas captured the 200-meter dash in an ECAC qualifying time of 24.95 seconds and finished second in the 60-meter dash in 7.77 seconds. She also was part of the 4x400-meter relay team which closed second in 3:56.41. The squad also consisted of sophomore Janel McFarlane (Kensington, Md.), freshman Crista Strachan (Grand Bahama, Bahamas) and junior Eva Terry (Germantown, Md.).

Senior Chioma Ukpai (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) also excelled over the weekend, repeating as champion in the 60-meter hurdles for her fourth NEC title. Her time of 8.61 seconds enabled her to qualify for the ECAC Championships.

The men's squad saw graduate Ashley Carter-Sinclair (Staten Island, N.Y.) win his second straight triple jump crown with a leap of 47' 4.25". It was his third NEC title and allowed him to earn a spot at the IC4A Championships.

Senior Ike Cartledge (Forestville, Md.) won his second NEC crown, running the 500-meter dash in 1:05.85. Junior Michael Hillian (Voorhees, N.J.) was victorious in the 400-meter dash in 48.90 and finished second in the 200-meter dash in 22.07 seconds, both IC4A qualifying times.

The men's 4x400-meter relay team won for the third straight season, clinching a spot at IC4As in 3:19.04. The team was made up of Hillian, graduate Ricardo Ordain (Brooklyn, N.Y.), senior Allandro Pierre (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and junior Jabari Bush (Baltimore, Md.)

Pierre finished second in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.40 seconds and senior Antonio Thomas (Baltimore, Md.) was second in the 400-meter dash in 49.55 seconds. Senior Jeremy Bascom (Brooklyn, N.Y.) closed second in the 60-meter dash in 6.95 seconds to qualify for the IC4As.

The women's team closed with 89 points to Monmouth's 137. The men's 120 points fell just behind the 136 for the Hawks.

The Blackbirds are off until Friday, February 25, when they will compete at the NYU Games in the New York Armory.