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For Immediate Release
December 7, 2010
South Easton, Mass. – Two student athletes and two coaches from the Northeast-10 Conference were honored by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) last week. All four of the East Region award winners hailed from the NE-10.
The USTFCCCA East Region Men's Athlete of the Year was Jeff Veiga from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Veiga finished third at the National Championship held last weekend in Louisville, Kentucky as he covered the 10K course in 30:52.8. Veiga's finish was UMass Lowell's best individual result since 1991 when UMass Lowell captured the NCAA Championship.
His coach, Gary Gardner, was named the East Region Men's Coach of the Year. Gardner led UMass Lowell, ranked No. 13 in the latest USTFCCCA poll, to a stellar season that has included the Northeast-10 Conference Championship for the fourth time in the past five years, as well as the NCAA East Region Championship for the fifth successive year.
On the women's side, American International College's Jeptui Cherutich was named the 2010 East Region Female Athlete of the Year. Cherutich, who was the top Northeast-10 finisher at the National Championship, won the East Region championship earlier this year, covering the 6K course in 22:18.
Andrew Rickert, from The College of Saint Rose, was named East Region Women's Coach of the Year. Rickert led the Golden Knights to their first ever appearance at the National Championships by finishing second as a team at the East Region Championship in November.
The Northeast-10 is an association of 16 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that are committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,500 student-athletes. Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in Conference championships in 23 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
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