FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Two-Time National Champion Selected for Impressive Accolade
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Capping off a remarkable and unprecedented indoor season that saw her finish the season with two individual titles at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships, Merrimack senior Carly Muscaro has been named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NCAA Division II Women's National Track Athlete of the Year.
She becomes the first Northeast-10 Conference student-athlete to receive an indoor national athlete of the year award since Stonehill's Keith Gill was selected in 1988.
Merrimack sprints coach Peter Early was also named the USTFCCCA Assistant Coach of the Year.
After being named the USTFCCCA East Region Track Athlete of the Year for the third time in her career this season, Muscaro garners her first-ever DII Track Athlete of the Year honor. She becomes the first athlete in program history to earn a national award from the USTFCCCA.
Early also becomes the first coach in program history to garner a national award, doing so for his impressive resume with the women's sprinters all season long and at Nationals.
Muscaro finished her indoor senior campaign by repeating as the National Champion in the 400m dash, doing so in incredible fashion by breaking the all-time Division II record in the event by posting a time of 51.78. But the senior was not done there, as she went on to win her first-ever 200m title less than an hour later at a time of 23.57.
She also shined in the women's 4x400m relay, running the fastest leg of anyone at Nationals at 51.80 to lead the Warriors to a program-best fourth-place finish, earning All-American status. Her efforts helped Merrimack earn 25 points as a team, ranking a program-best seventh-place at the NCAA Championships.
Before her record-setting day at the Championships, Muscaro had been posting impressive performances all season long. She had run the second-fastest time in the 400m in Division II history before setting a new record at Nationals, and ran the second-fastest time in collegiate history in the 500m earlier this season (1:09.05). She posted the top times in the country in the 200m and 400m on the season and anchored the seventh-fastest 4x400m relay team during the regular season. She was also just one of 15 women nationwide to be named All-Region in four different events.
Information for this release provided by the athletic communications staff at Merrimack.
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 15 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 student-athletes compete in conference championships, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
