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Emmitsburg, MD — Saint Francis U was in the driver's set following the opening day of the 2022 Northeast Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and that didn't change on Championship Sunday. The Red Flash lit the scoreboard up with 175 points to win their second straight outdoor title in commanding fashion.
Saint Francis U finished 56 points in front of its closest competitor, LIU, which tallied 119 points. Central Connecticut (104 points) took third place in the standings, while FDU rounded out the top-four after recording 87 points.
Claiming a pair of gold medals on Saturday's opening day in performances from senior Emily Lunger (Sayre, PA/Athens Area) in the high jump and freshman Carly Sedun (Elizabethtown, PA/Elizabethtown) in the discus (39.45m), the Red Flash earned five more top finishes on Sunday.
Sprinters Mylan Crews (West Alexandria, OH/West Alexandria-Twin Valley) and Jalurah Moore (Blakeslee, PA/Pleasant Valley) made it a sweep in the dashes for Saint Francis U after winning the 100m and 200m events, respectively. Crews clocked in at 11.93 in the 100m, while Moore turned in a time of 24.40 in the 200m, an event that saw the Red Flash rake in 16 team points. Junior Gabrielle Stanavich (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) also landed on top of the podium in the 100m hurdles after finishing in 14.87.
Junior Madeline Murphy (Cresson, PA/Bishop Carroll) and senior Katherine McLaughlin (Berkeley Springs, WV/Berkeley Springs) racked up points in the field events. Murphy, who earned silver in the long jump on Saturday, added a gold medal to her resume in the triple jump after she combined for a distance of 12.09m. She received the Most Outstanding Field Performer (Jumps) Award after her two-medal weekend. In the hammer, McLaughlin struck gold with an impressive throw of 49.51m.
Runner-up LIU, which entered Championship Sunday in third place, received boosts from a pair of track events to jump Central Connecticut on the leaderboard. Senior Kelly Iocca (Oakdale, NY/Conetquot) raced to a first-place finish in the 3,000m steeplechase in 11:25.82 while graduate student Tara Hernandez (North Babylon, NY/North Babylon), the Most Outstanding Track Performer (Sprints), won the 400m hurdles in 1:02.28. Hernandez, who landed on the podium with a bronze medal in the 100m hurdles, also ran a leg of the 4x400m relay team which took first place.
On the field, sophomore Sherene Williams (St. Elizabeth, Jamaica) earned top-billing in the shot put with a hurl of 12.86m.
Central Connecticut senior Angie Rafter (Danielson, CT/Killingly) enjoyed one of the most impressive stretches of the NEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She pulled off the distance triple crown after following a win in Saturday's 10,000m with grueling victories in the 1,500m and the 5,000m.
Rafter capped off her illustrious outdoor career by clinching both the Most Outstanding Track Performer (Distance) and the Most Valuable Performer awards.
Junior Ashley Dana (Durham, CT/Coginchaug) also had a solid day for the Blue Devils on Sunday. She traded in her silver in the 800m for a gold in 2022 after crossing the line in 2:17.22. Dana also landed on the podium in the 1,500m run, taking second in the event.
Rounding out the major award winners were Merrimack's Alana Johnson and Fairleigh Dickinson's Chloe Lucas. Johnson finished on top of the pack in the javelin after recording an ECAC-qualifying throw of 41.57m. Lucas, who was named the top rookie at the 2022 Indoor Track and Field Championships, repeated as Most Outstanding Rookie Performer after she was runner-up in the 400m and the fifth finisher in the 200m.
MAJOR AWARD WINNERS:
Most Valuable Performer (MVP): Angie Rafter, Central Connecticut
Most Outstanding Track Performer (Sprints): Tara Hernandez, LIU
Most Outstanding Track Performer (Distance): Angie Rafter, Central Connecticut
Most Outstanding Field Performer (Throws): Alana Johnson, Merrimack
Most Outstanding Field Performer (Jumps): Madeline Murphy, Saint Francis U
Most Outstanding Rookie Performers: Chloe Lucas, Fairleigh Dickinson; Keighan Decoff, Mount St. Mary's; Carly Sedun, Saint Francis U
FINAL STANDINGS
| 1. |
Saint Francis U |
175 |
| 2. |
LIU |
119 |
| 3. |
Central Connecticut |
104 |
| 4. |
Fairleigh Dickinson |
87 |
| 5. |
Bryant |
79.5 |
| 6. |
Merrimack |
65 |
| 7. |
Sacred Heart |
64.5 |
| 8. |
Mount St. Mary's |
53 |
| 8. |
Wagner |
53 |
| 10. |
St. Francis Brooklyn |
18 |