The Northeastern University men’s track and field team placed second out of 35 teams at the 117th New England Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the Solomon Track in Dedham, Mass. The University of Maine paced the America East women’s competitors, turning in a third-place finish out of 33 teams.
Finishing behind Northeastern (88 points) in the men’s field, was University of New Hampshire in sixth (34), Boston University in 14th (23) and Maine in 22nd (11.5). Following the Maine women (65) was Northeastern in 4th (61), New Hampshire in 5th (56), Boston University in 12th (31), University of Vermont in 20th (20) and University of Hartford rounded out the scoring in 16th (18).
Leading the Huskies, was Derek Anderson (Wrentham, Mass./Xavarian Brothers) who turned in two first-place finishes as he won the shot put (61’ 2.75”) and the discus (168’ 6”). Other top finishers for Northeastern included Isiah Grigg (Bellport, N.Y./Bellport/SUNY-Cobleskill), who won the long jump (23’ 4.75”) and Idris Payne (New York, N.Y./Fordham Prep) who was the top finisher in the 400-meter dash (47.47).
For New Hampshire, Branden Williams (Hooksett, N.H./Hooksett) grabbed a second-place finish in the 1,500 (3:51.31), while teammates Timothy Perry (Bethel, Colo./Bethel) and Greg Taylor (Allentown, Pa./Allentown) each turned in third-place finishes in the 5,000 (14:56.04) and triple jump (46’ 0.75”) respectively. Leading the Terriers was Lucjan Zaborowski (Chorzow, Poland/J. Slowacki), who finished third in the 400 (48.10) and fourth in the 200 (22.20), and Matt Howard (San Antonio, Texas) who grabbed third-place points in the 200 (22.17). The top performers for Maine included Nathan Holmes (Westbrook, Maine/Massabesic) and Kyle Irvine (Waterville, Maine/Waterville), who finished fourth and sixth, respectively, in the 110-hurdles (14.60) and pole vault (15’ 0”). Chris Spivey (Hyde Park, Mass./Concord-Carlisle) and Stanley Bucasas (Waimea, Hawaii/Waimea) competed for Hartford.
The Maine women collected two first-place, three second-place and two third-place finishes during the championship. Stephanie McCusker (Lisbon, Maine/Lisbon) garnered top honors in the long jump with a leap of 18’ 1.0” and also finished third in the triple jump (38’ 1.5”) to lead the Black Bears. Katie Page (Palmyra, Maine/Nokomis Regional) contributed by placing second in the discus (45’ 1.75”) and third in the shot put (45’ 1.75”), while Kathryn Souviney (East Vassalboro, Maine/Winslow) won the heptathlon (4,638 points).
Northeastern claimed four first-place finishes as Amber Cullen, Laura Chmielewski (Monmouth, N.J./South Brunswick/Rutgers) and Zara Northover (Elmont, N.Y./Sewanhaka) won the 10,000 (38:16.60), pole vault (13’ 3.75”) and shot put (51’ 2.25”) respectively. The Huskies 4x800-meter relay team also finished first (9:01.58). For New Hampshire, Leighann Carpenter (Princeton, Mass./Wachusett Regional) won the 400 (56.82) and Kaitlin Norberg (Medfield, Mass./Medfield) finished second in the 100 hurdles (14.80). Abbey Sadowski (Voluntown, Conn./Voluntown) and Mary Ellen Bingham (Boston, Mass./Boston Latin) led Boston University with second-place showings in the 1,500 (4:32.40) and triple jump (38’ 7.5”) respectively. Anike Orimogonje (Orange, N.J./Queen of Peace) finished first in the 200 (24.68) and second in the 100 (12.16) to lead Hartford, while Kristal Kostiew (Northwood, N.H./Coe-Brown) garnered second-place honors in the hammer throw (190’ 7”) and third-place accolades in the discus (142’ 2”) to guide Vermont.
America East athletes who have achieved qualifying marks throughout the season will be in competition at the ECAC/IC4A Championships on May 13-16 at Yale University’s Outdoor Track and Field Complex in New Haven, Connecticut.