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Emmitsburg, MD - It came down to the final event, but Sacred Heart was able to thwart Central Connecticut's upset bid in the race for the women's team title at the 2017 NEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
The two-time defending champion Pioneers trailed Central Connecticut, which was aiming for its first-ever conference crown, by one point heading into the 4x400m relay.
Fortunately for SHU, the Pioneers' 1600m relay squad came through under the pressure by securing a second-place finish and the precious eight points that come with it. CCSU finished fifth in the event, more than 5.0 seconds behind Sacred Heart's pace.
The final tally was Sacred Heart 145, Central Connecticut 142. LIU Brooklyn, which benefitted from exceptional performances from sprinters Shantae McDonald and Cassandra Jones, finished in third place with 95 points.
McDonald accounted for 28 of the Blackbirds' point total en-route to capturing the NEC Most Valuable Performer award. She won three individual medals highlighted by a gold in the 100m hurdles. McDonald, who finished second in the 200m dash and third in the 100m, also ran on the Blackbirds 400m and 1600m relay teams.
LIU Brooklyn senior sprinter Cassandra Jones, the 2017 NEC Indoor MVP, picked up 24 points over the course of the two-day outdoor meet.
Senior Mareena Dimilia was the lone SHU athlete to capture a major award. After scoring in the shot put and javelin, Dimilia scored a key win in the hammer throw en-route to winning a share of the Most Outstanding Field Performer (Throws) award. Robert Morris' Rachel Boody, who also picked up points in three throwing events, was the other recipient of the honor. Boody's gold medal came in the discus.
Sacred Heart's victory was a complete team effort as the Pioneers scored in all but one of the meet's 21 events. Senior Nicole Bartosch, who won the 2016 NEC Outdoor MVP award, was SHU's next-highest scorer after Dimilia. The versatile Heptathlete tallied 17 points across five events.
Central Connecticut's team standing was buoyed by the efforts of distance veteran Brittany Mendelson. Putting forth a warrior-like performance, Mendelson struck gold in both the 5,000m and 10,000m runs and secured the NEC Most Outstanding Track Performer (Distance) award as a result. As a team, the Blue Devils totaled 35 points across the two long distance events.
CCSU also received a boost from freshman Hailey Rospierski, who won the high jump and placed fourth in the 100m hurdles. As a result, she shared the NEC Most Outstanding Rookie Performer award with Robert Morris sophomore Lilly Harnish.
Making her NEC outdoor championship debut, Harnish, who missed the 2016 outdoor campaign, won the triple jump and grabbed a bronze medal in the high jump. The Keystone State product, who was unable to compete outdoors as a freshman due to injury, also captured the Most Outstanding Field Performer (Jumps) award.
MAJOR AWARD WINNERS
Women's MVP: Shantae McDonald, LIU
Women's Most Outstanding Track Performer (Sprints): Shantae McDonald, LIU
Women's Most Outstanding Track Performer (Distance): Brittany Mendelson, CCSU
Women's Most Outstanding Field Performer (Jumps): Lilly Harnish, RMU
Women's Most Outstanding Field Performer (Throws): Mareena Dimilia (SHU) & Rachel Boody (RMU)
Women's Most Outstanding Rookie Performer: Lilly Harnish (RMU) & Hailey Rospierski (CCSU)