The Northeast-10 Conference Blog

Winter Wrap-Up

It was a successful winter season for the NE-10 to say the least. National Championships, Regional Championships, major award winners - plenty of hardware to go around.

Let’s take one last brief look back at the 2015-16 winter season.

Jumping right to championship mode, the first NE-10 Championship of the year took place in Worcester, Mass. That was, of course, the site of the 2016 NE-10 Swimming and Diving Championships. The four-day event was held at Worcester Polytechnic Institute for the first time and began with a major blizzard! Despite the cold weather outside, things heated up inside, as 13(!) NE-10 records fell. It was a repeat performance - Assumption won its third straight women’s title, while Southern Connecticut continued its historic run with a 6th straight men’s title (12th in the last 13 years).

Take a look at some of the exciting footage taken:

Two weeks later, it was the 15th annual Northeast-10 Indoor Track & Field Championships. Seven new conference championship records were set on the day! Similar to swimming and diving, it was once again a repeat effort by our team champions. The Stonehill women’s team made it a three-peat, while the AIC men won their second consecutive title.

We documented some of our favorite moments:

Then it was on to basketball, where we started the March Madness fever a little early. During the quarterfinals of the NE-10 Men’s Basketball Championship, two memorable contests went into overtime (Adelphi vs. Stonehill / SCSU vs. SNHU).

We caught this thrilling moment that forced OT between the Owls & Penmen:

Southern Connecticut’s Austin Carter, the NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year, stole the ball and laid it in with about 5 seconds remaining before Jerome Harris threw a baseball pass down the court to hit Rodney Sanders, who drained the game-tying three-pointer to force OT.

Southern New Hampshire, a No. 4 seed, would use the momentum from that thrilling OT win to go on and win its second NE-10 Championship after a closely-contested battle with Bentley in the finals.

Meanwhile, the two top seeds in the NE-10 Women’s Basketball Championship (AIC and Bentley) met in the finals. Just one season after missing the postseason entirely, Bentley reclaimed the NE-10 crown and won its fifth league championship in the last six seasons (19th overall).

A number of NE-10 indoor track & field and swimming and diving student-athletes competed in this year’s NCAA Championships as well. On March 11, the NE-10 got its first National Championship of 2015-16, as American International College’s Chandler Cotton Jr., Kemani Hume, Leakey Kipkosgei and Chad Miller teamed up to win the men’s distance medley relay title.

Then, the NE-10 added a second national champ the very next day! Merrimack’s Carly Muscaro won the women’s 400-meter dash to become the Warriors’ first-ever national champion.

Watch Carly’s reaction as she crosses the finish line:

Just a few days after the NE-10 posted two national championship performances, the celebration continued with a pair of regional titles in men’s and women’s basketball. First, Bentley erased a 14-point deficit to defeat NYIT for the Falcons’ 4th East Region title in the last 6 years.

The NE-10 had the most teams in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship field of any conference in Division II with five squads. SNHU made history by becoming the first No. 8 seed in East Region history to knock off a No. 1 seed, taking down Holy Family in the opening round. In the end, Stonehill and Saint Anselm battled in an All NE-10 men’s regional final. The Skyhawks worked overtime for the second game in a row, edging Saint Anselm for their third East Region Championship in the last 10 years.

Bentley and Stonehill both advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight to continue their pursuits for a national title. The Skyhawks put up a valiant effort against West Liberty, dropping a heartbreaker by just one point. Bentley’s run continued on, as the Falcons took the lead just 1:36 into their national quarterfinal matchup against Virginia Union and hung on for a 53-52 victory to earn a spot in the Final Four. Bentley ultimately fell to an undefeated Lubbock Christian squad in the national semifinals.

It was an exciting winter. To sum it up, here’s a look at the NE-10 Champs:

Stonehill was the lone double-winner, taking the women’s indoor track & field and men’s ice hockey titles. Congratulations to all the NE-10 Champions.

Now it’s April, and pretty soon it’ll be Championship Season once again, this time for our spring sports.

Can’t wait.

One for the Ages

Over the weekend, Stonehill and LIU Post squared off in a battle of unbeaten NE-10 football squads down in Brookville, N.Y., the home of the Pioneers. Both teams entered the game 3-0 overall and 2-0 in conference. The Pioneers and Skyhawks both were receiving votes in the AFCA National Coaches’ Poll heading into the weekend.

As expected, the NE-10 Game of the Week was getting a lot of hype.

The contest got off to a slow start until freshman RB Malik Pierre got LIU Post on the board first with a 15-yard touchdown run late in the 1st quarter. Joey Tolgyesi added a 23-yard field goal midway through the 2nd, as the Pioneers held the Skyhawks scoreless in the opening half and led 10-0 at the break.

The 3rd quarter was where the offense really picked up, and Stonehill finally got on the board on a 24-yard pass from Matt Foltz to Kaleb Lutton. After the PAT was no good, the score was LIU Post 10, Stonehill 6.

And then, LIU Post took over.

Pierre ran in his 2nd TD of the day, followed by a pair of TD passes from QB Jeff Kidd to put the Pioneers up by 24 at 30-6 with 1:17 to go in the 3rd.

Stonehill fought back, however, and Foltz connected on touchdown passes to Lutton and Corey White to bring the Skyhawks within 10 points, 30-20.

Then with 2:13 to go in the game, Pierre trotted into the end zone from 4 yards out for his 3rd TD of the game, putting the Pioneers in control with a 17-point lead.

The game was out of reach, right?

… Think again.

Foltz found Lutton for the third time on the day to cut the deficit to 10 with 1:02 remaining. After forcing a punt, Stonehill scored yet again, as Foltz tossed his 5th TD of the game, this one to Dave Harrison with just 6 ticks on the clock.

Stonehill then went for the onside kick … and recovered it.

With 6 seconds left, Stonehill trailed LIU Post, 37-34.

Creighton Rabs caught the final 6 seconds on camera.

Foltz threw up a 41-yard Hail Mary as time expired, caught by White in the end zone to give Stonehill the miraculous 40-37 comeback win.

What a game between 2 great NE-10 teams. One for the ages.

Fall Fever

Believe it or not, it’s now mid-September. Summer is over and fall is upon us, meaning a new season and a new year in the Northeast-10 Conference. Only a week into the season and the excitement surrounding NE-10 fall sports is already at a very high level. We have caught “Fall Fever” here at the conference office and couldn’t be more thrilled!

Allow me to introduce myself.. My name is Nick Lantz, Director of Strategic Communications for the NE-10. I joined the team back in February, so this will be my first full year with the conference. We are PUMPED for the 2015-16 season! It’s going to be a blast.

Today being September 11th, the Northeast-10 remembers that tragic day back in 2001 with a heavy heart, and we honor those who lost their lives on that day.

Believe it or not, only two weeks from today is the first NE-10 Championship - women’s golf - which will take place Sept. 25-26 in Sands Point, N.Y. Traveling to our championship events is probably my favorite perk of being with the conference. Being one of the premier D2 leagues in the country, watching the best of the NE-10 battle with title hopes on the line is something you don’t want to miss.

Luckily I was able to be a part of several postseason events during this past winter and spring seasons, and I’m eagerly awaiting the 2015 fall championship experience. Whether it’s cross country or soccer, the level of competition throughout this league is outstanding.

In case you missed it over the weekend, the NE-10 got off to a great start with some big wins over non-conference opponents.

In football, LIU Post, Stonehill, Assumption and Pace all claimed season-opening victories. The conference went 3-3 against PSAC teams, as the Pioneers, Skyhawks and Greyhounds all took care of business against their Pennsylvania counterparts.

The biggest win came when Stonehill upset #11/14 Bloomsburg on the road. As NE-10 football teams enter conference play this week, keep an eye on that Assumption-LIU Post matchup. Set to kick off at noon on Saturday, that game should be a barn burner.

In soccer, the conference has a team ranked in the top 5 of both the men’s and women’s NSCAA National Coaches’ Poll. Saint Rose is #2 in the women’s poll, while Southern New Hampshire moved up to #4 in the men’s poll.

The conference also had four field hockey teams ranked in the top-10 of the NFHCA Preseason Poll - LIU Post, Stonehill, Adelphi and Merrimack.

Some other games/matches to watch out for this weekend include:
Volleyball - Post at New Haven (Friday at 3 p.m.) - Preseason favorite in the NE-10 New Haven takes on defending CACC Champ Post.
Women’s Tennis - Adelphi at Merrimack (Friday at 4 p.m.) - Both were picked to finish the season in the top 3 in the NE-10 Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
Men’s Soccer - Le Moyne at So. Connecticut (Saturday at 1 p.m.) - Undefeated Le Moyne visits the defending NE-10 runner-up in the first men’s soccer conference game of 2015.

Stay tuned for a fun and exciting fall season. The best news of all - we’ve only just begun.

Wrapping Up the Season

Our coach Tim Quill gives us dozens of speeches every season, but there was one particular one that he gave this year that stuck with me and ended up being the main theme of this highlight video.

He has asked us more than once to think back to the best performances of our lives and see if we can remember anything from the actual races themselves.

Granted it was 6 a.m. when this speech was given, but my teammates and I really could not remember a thing.

Sure, it is easy to remember something that went wrong in a bad race, but when it comes to the best races of our lives, he was absolutely right.

As soon as someone steps onto a block, a switch can easily go on. This muscle memory switch can put your body on auto pilot and all of that training that you completed leading up to the race, can easily take control and execute the race for you.

As soon as I heard “Into The Jungle” by the X Ambassadors & Jay Z last summer during the world cup, I knew I wanted to make a video to this song.

The song and the footage go perfectly together because my teammates are acting wild in some of the shots I got.

They really look like they are about to enter a jungle full of competition.

I really enjoyed making this video and I am glad that I got some of my teammates’ races on camera  because they are most likely not going to remember swimming them…

On The Road Again

Coming off an emotional senior day meet vs. Connecticut College at home, we hit the road a week later and traveled to both Troy, N.Y. for a meet against The College of Saint Rose and then on to Syracuse, N.Y. to face Le Moyne College.

On the men’s side, the Owls defeated Saint Rose 123-109 and went on to win against Le Moyne 121-113.

As for the Lady Owls, we lost to Saint Rose 119 to 116, but then bounced back with a 140-83 victory over Le Moyne.

Several of my teammates received honors this week for their performances.

Sophomore Katherine Crochet was named the Northeast-10 Conference Women’s Swimming Athlete of the week after winning six of her events.

Crochet finished first in the 50 yard freestyle (24.86) , 100 yard freestyle (54.69), and 400 yard freestyle relay at Saint Rose. Then at Le Moyne, she finished first in both the 100 and 200 yard freestyle events as well as the 800 yard freestyle relay.

Freshman Aubrey Bailey was named Corvias ECAC Women’s Swimming Rookie of the Week and also named to the NE-10’s Weekly Honor Roll after earning three victories.

Junior Christina Lavery was also named to the NE-10 Weekly Honor Roll after winning four of her events, two of which were the 200 yard freestyle (2:01.44) and 500 yard freestyle (5:32.22).

Lastly, junior Louis Geist was named to the NE-10 Weekly Honor Roll as well. Geist picked up two wins at Saint Rose in the 200 yard IM (2:00.36) and 200 yard butterfly (1:58.37).

Before we embarked on our six hour bus ride home from Le Moyne, junior Louis Geist, sophomore Dylan Swanepoel, senior Dan Gallup and senior Austin McMahon entertained us by breaking the 800 freestyle relay pool record with a time of 7:12.98.

Gallup and McMahon could not have ended their last duel meet as Owls any better than they did.

Only two weeks until championships…

Stressful Time of Year In & Out of the Pool

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y.>> As if stressing over finals wasn’t enough, our duel meet against Pace University came down to the last event.

It was all tied up when we got to the 400 yard freestyle relay.

Our “A” relay consisted of junior Christina Lavery, freshman Sydney Fromkin, sophomore Katherine Crotchet and myself.

Crotchet split a 52.8 and that really helped us touch first with a time of 3:42.86.

Leading up to that relay, the Lady Owls swam fairly well.

The first event was the 200 yard medley relay and senior Rachel Smolensky, senior Courtney Silva, Crotchet and myself won it in a time of 1:55.47.

In the 100 yard backstroke, freshman Aubrey Bailey finished first with a time of 1:02.46 and Smolensky took second with a time of 1:03.18.

Bailey went on to win the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 1:03.03 and she also touched second in the 200 yard I.M. with a time of 2:17.88.

Smolensky also finished first in the 200 yard backstroke with a time of 2:16.73.

Silva went on to have a great meet as well. She won the 200 yard butterfly along with the 200 yard breaststroke.

On the men’s side, they defeated Pace as well with a final score of 169-95.

They too finished first in the 200 yard medley relay. Freshman Tyler Vander Vos, freshman Brandon Beaudoin, sophomore Dylan Swanepoel and senior Jared Thurston made up the “A” relay.

In the 1650 freestyle, junior Louis Geist finished first with a time of 16:39.86 and senior Daniel Gallup finished second with a time of 17:07.73.

Later on in the meet, the men took the top three spots in the opposite event, the 50 yard freestyle. Senior Jared Thurston, senior James Vaz and junior Travis Burke finished with times of 22.54, 23.50 and 23.58 seconds.

From the distance events to the sprint events, the guys are really shaping up nicely for the end of the year.

57 days until NE-10’s…          

Katie Krajcik Entry - Swimming & Diving Blog (Nov. 7, 2014)

NEW HAVEN>> So the Lady Owls won the first home meet of the season…

And let me tell you we were not expecting it.

For at least 5 years we have always lost to the College of New Jersey.

It all started with the first event, the 200-medley relay. Morale was high after the A relay consisting of Senior Captain Rachel Smolensky, Senior Courtney Silva, Freshman Lilly Martin and Sophomore Katie Crotchet placed first and then the “B-lay” consisting of Freshman Aubrey Bailey, Sophomore Molly Soufrine, Sophomore Miranda Gursky and myself finished second. 

The next event was the 1000 freestyle and the ladies finished one-two again. Freshman Sydney Fromkin touched first with a time of 11:03.06 and Sophomore Kayla Laydon touched second with a time of 11:26.38.

The Men’s 1000 was just as exciting as the Women’s. Junior Louis Geist out touched his opponent at the end and finished with a time of 9:44.07.

Later in the meet, the sophomores really started to dominate. Christian Berg picked up two wins in the 100 and 200 backstroke (52.05 and 1:51.12) and Dylan Swanepoel picked up two wins in the 100 and 200 fly (52.82 and 1:56.12).

Along with them, Sophomore Katie Crotchet won two events. She touched first in the 50 with a time of 24.84 and won the 100 with a time of 54.48.

The 200 I.M. towards the end of the meet is what really put the women’s team over the top though.  

Freshman Aubrey Bailey finished first with a time of 2:17.28 and Senior Captain Christina Lavery finished second with a time of 2:20.30.

It felt great to be an owl that day. 

Inside the NE-10 Issue 2, September 2014