For Immediate Release
March 11, 2012
Additional reporting help provided by Northeast-10 Athletics Communications Personnel
Three Northeast-10 Men's Teams Finish in Top Ten
Mankato, Minn. – American International College's Dominic Smith and Southern Connecticut State University's Nick Lebron won national championships at the at the 2012 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Myers Fieldhouse on the campus of Minnesota State University-Mankato.
Smith won the 400-meter dash, stopping the clock with a final time of 47.84 seconds, while Lebron won the heptathlon with a final score of 5225.
For the complete results from the 2012 Indoor Track and Field Championships, click here.
Also, three men's track and field teams representing Northeast-10 member institutions finished among the top ten teams in the country, as So. Connecticut placed third, the University of Massachusetts Lowell was ninth, and American Int'l came in tenth place.
Smith is the first-ever national champion in any sport (individual or team) at American Int'l. His time in the 400 was a personal best, and earned him All-America honors for the second consecutive season as he finished second in the event last year.
To see an interview with Smith following his national title, click here.
Lebron finished the heptathlon with a total of 5225 points, 115 better then the runner-up, and 138 more then third-place finisher, So. Connecticut teammate Connor Coleman. He becomes the 19th national title winner for the Owls' indoor track and field team and is the 73rd individual NCAA title recipient in the program's history.
While Smith and Lebron share the headlines, a number of other Northeast-10 athletes had impressive showings at the championship meet. On the women's side, Bentley University's Amy Varsell finished third in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:10.41, earning All-America honors for the third time in her career.
On the men's side, UMass Lowell's Evan White finished second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.52. Glarius Rop from American Int'l placed second in the 5,000-meter run (14:10.73), while So. Connecticut's Selasi Lumax was third in the 800-meter run (1:52.61).
Stonehill College's Corey Thomas finished third in the high jump, an event he won a year ago, with a jump of 2.15 meters.
Other impressive performances were turned in by the UMass Lowell and So. Connecticut 4x400 meter relay teams, which finished second and third respectively, with times of 3:15.10 and 3:15.25. The Owls' distance medley team finished second at the NCAA Division II Championships, completing the event in 9:55.34.
As a team, the Bentley women's team placed 22nd overall, while Stonehill checked in 25th at this year's championships.
The Northeast-10 is an association of 16 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 5,500 student-athletes. Each year, 4,000 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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