Teresa Covert and Brandon Howlett of Albany, Zara Northover, Laura Chmielewski and Derek Anderson of Northeastern, and Jochen Dieckfoss of Boston University have qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships to be held June 9-12 at the University of Texas. Each of the five qualified at the East Regional in Gainesville, Fla., May 28-29.
East Regional Results
Northover qualified in the women's shot put, Chmielewski in the pole vault, and Anderson in the men's shot put on Friday (May 28). Covert qualified in women’s 100-meter hurdles and Howlett in the men’s discus throw on Saturday (May 29). Dieckfoss qualified in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Saturday.
Northover tossed the shot 53-9.75 and placed fourth. The sophomore was the only true freshman in the shot put at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in 2003 when she finished 15th (50-1.25).
Chmielewski jumped 12-4 and tied for ninth overall. She will enter the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship ranked 13th based on her jump 13-3.75 at the New England Championships.
Anderson placed fifth with a throw of 59-0. Anderson broke the America East and Northeastern records while winning the shot put (62-0.25) and discus (185-7) at the America East Championship in early May. He also won the shot put (61-2.75) and discus (168-9) at the New England Championship.
Covert needed a committee review to advance after she was originally placed sixth in 100-hurdles final. The top five finishers in each event qualify for the NCAA championships. After UAlbany coach Roberto Vives asked for the committee to reread the results, the officials ruled that Covert and Villanova’s Monique Morgan finished in a dead heat for fifth. In order to break the tie, the two athletes were instructed to rerun the race to determine the NCAA representative. The Villanova coaching staff conceded the spot when they determined Morgan would not be able to compete again due to an injury. Covert, a two-time America East Conference champion in the 100-hurdles, became the first Albany track athlete to qualify for the NCAA Division I nationals last year. She officially posted a season-best time of 13.47 seconds in the 2004 race.
Howlett is the first UAlbany male athlete to reach the national championships. He posted his second-best throw of the season with a toss of 181-feet to finish fourth among the regional competitors. Howlett set the school record (184-0.50) with a second-place finish at the America East outdoor meet on May 2. North Carolina State’s James Rowell won the discus with a mark of 190-07.
Dieckfoss qualified for his third consecutive NCAA Championship as he finished in third place in the 3000-meter steeplechase. He finished the race in 8:48.72. It marks the third time in his career he will compete at the NCAA's. In 2003, Dieckfoss ran to an 11th-place finish in the finals in a time of 8:47.54. He reached the finals by running a personal-best time of 8:40.94 in a preliminary heat. In his first trip as a sophomore in 2002, Dieckfoss finished in 8:49.04 in the premilinaries, falling two spots shy of qualifying for the finals.