Southern Connecticut Sweeps NE-10 Outdoor Track & Field Championship

Posted: May 01, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

[Click Here For Complete Championship Results]

South Easton, Mass. – The Southern Connecticut State University men’s and women’s outdoor track & field teams took top honors at the Northeast-10 Outdoor Track & Field Championship Saturday afternoon at W.B. Mason Stadium on the campus of Stonehill College. The men won their eighth straight title, while the women recorded their third title in four years.

On the men’s side, Southern Connecticut collected 198 points to win this year’s championship and were followed closely by American International College with 171 points. Stonehill College came in third place with 114 points, while the College of Saint Rose followed in fourth with 97 points. The University of Massachusetts Lowell finished with 90 points to round out the top five.

Bentley University came away with 63 points for a sixth place showing and was followed in order by Adelphi University (36), University of New Haven (30) and Assumption College (19).

Junior Joseph Poulsen (Oxford, Mass.) led the Owls with a first place finish in the 3,000 – meter steeple chase event setting a new NE-10 championship meet record with a time of 9:19.17. Teammate Ryan Whitehead (Darien, Conn.) also set a new meet record in the pole vault event as he recorded a distance of 16’ 3.25”.

Junior Maurice Calenda (Bloomfield, Conn.) and sophomore Dominic Smith (Bloomfield, Conn.) were named the championship’s most outstanding athletes for their performances. Calenda won two events including the long jump and triple jump. He set a new meet record in the long jump with a distance of 24’ 00.25” and recorded a distance of 46’ 10.25” in the triple jump. Smith was part of the winning 4x100 relay team that finished in a time of 41.88 and finished second in the 400-meters (47.19) and the 200-meters (21.56).

On the women’s side, Southern Connecticut collected 227.50 points to claim their third title in the past four years. UMass Lowell, last year’s champion, followed with 168 points to finish second, while Stonehill collected 141 points to finish third.

American International tallied 90 points for a fourth place showing and Bentley secured fifth place with 53.50 points. New Haven picked up 43 points to finish just ahead of Adelphi (40) for sixth place and was followed in order by Saint Rose (37), Pace University (11) and Assumption (4).

Junior Courtni Walker (Uniondale, N.Y.) helped lead Southern Connecticut as she was named the championship’s Most Outstanding Athlete. Walker took first place in the long jump with a distance of 18’ 01.00” and finished second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.50. Senior Letecia Taylor (Plainfield, N.J.) won two events for the Owls as she set a new championship record in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.06 as well as setting a new record in the 400-meter hurdles (1:02.51).

The Northeast-10 Championship saw 13 records fall, including seven on the men’s side and six on the women’s side. For complete results visit the Northeast-10 website at www.northeast10.org (.)

With 16 member institutions the Northeast-10 shares the distinction of being the largest Division II conference in the country along with the PSAC and WVIAC. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.

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Final Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Team Results

1. So. Connecticut – 198
2. American Int’l – 171
3. Stonehill – 114
4. Saint Rose – 97
5. UMass Lowell – 90
6. Bentley – 63
7. Adelphi – 36
8. New Haven – 30
9. Assumption – 19
10. Pace – 0

Final Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Team Results

1. So. Connecticut – 227.50
2. UMass Lowell – 168
3. Stonehill – 141
4. American Int’l – 90
5. Bentley – 53.50
6. New Haven – 43
7. Adelphi – 40
8. Saint Rose – 37
9. Pace – 11
10. Assumption 4