Women's Indoor Track and Field Preseason Poll (PDF)
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Last year, Boston University’s women’s indoor track and field captured its fourth-straight America East Championship title and is predicted to again claim the conference crown by the 2009 preseason coaches’ poll. The Terriers received six of eight possible first-place votes, since coaches weren’t allowed to vote for their own team, for a total of 62 points. The University at Albany finished a close second at the 2009 championship meet and is expected to do so again this year. UAlbany earned 56 points and two first-place votes.
At third in the poll, University of New Hampshire finished closely behind the Great Danes, garnering 52 points and the remaining first-place vote. University of Maine finished fourth with 35 points followed by University of Vermont (31 points), University of Binghamton (30) and Stony Brook University (29). UMBC (20) and University of Hartford (9) finished in eighth and ninth.
Coming from behind on the second day of competition, the Terriers claimed their fourth consecutive title last year, the first women’s team since 1996 to accomplish the feat. Although the Terriers lose the 500-meter champion Becky Marshburn and the 800-meter titleholder Katie Weider to graduation, they return a strong group of experienced underclassmen runners, including the 2009 Most Outstanding Rookie, sophomore Shelby Walton (Danbury, Conn.). Walton won the 55-meter dash title and placed third in the 200-meter. In the distance races, sophomore Katie Matthews (Rocky Hill, Conn.) will be an asset to Boston U., filling the hole left by the 2009 Most Outstanding Track Performer and All-American Andrea Walkonen. Matthews finished seventh in the 5,000-meter at last year’s championship and had a strong cross country season, placing eighth at the 2009 conference cross country meet. Among the returning upperclassmen is junior Karly Neveu (Surrey, British Columbia), who looks to defend her high jump title and claim her third straight crown at this year’s conference meet. Senior Whitney Ford (White Plains, N.Y.), who won the 55-meter dash in 2008 and placed second in the triple jump last year, will also lead the strong group of returning Terrier teammates. Ford also captured second in the triple jump at the New England Championship and won the long jump at the ECAC meet.
While the Great Danes lose 2009 Most Outstanding Field Performer and Coaches’ Award winner Kamilah McShine to graduation, they return a strong group of competitors ready to step up and fill the gap. Senior sprinter Fey Adaramola (Bronx, N.Y./Trevor/Central Florida) was a member of the 4x400 relay that won with a time just two-hundredths of a second off the meet record. Adaramola also won the 200-meter dash, setting a school record. With the graduation of Ritshell Verdier, who won the shot put title, UAlbany will look to junior Kadine Johnson (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle), who placed third at last year’s championship. UAlbany also returns graduate student Laura Cummings (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore/North Carolina), who will be a strong runner for the Great Danes in the mid-distances. Last year, Cummings placed seventh in the mile and ran the closing leg of the distance medley relay that took second. Junior Celine Cauderlier (Entzhein, France/Lycee Louis Pasteur/Université Louis Pasteur) should also earn points UAlbany after placing third in the pole vault last year. Cauderlier should be in contention for the title this year.
The Wildcats return a strong group of more experienced athletes ready to compete for the America East title. Both of UNH’s individual America East champions return this year, including seniors Rita Ciambra (Hanover, N.H./Hanover) and Ashlee Lathrop (Sherburne, N.Y./Sherburne-Earlville). Ciambra won the pole vault, breaking the 2004 championship record and qualifying for the ECAC Championship. Ciambra also won her second straight New England indoor pole vault title last year. Lathrop won her title in the weight throw, also qualifying for the ECAC meet. The Wildcats also return all the members of their distance medley relay that claimed last year’s title. Sophomore Keely Maguire (Georgetown, Mass./Triton) and juniors Catherine Perella (Bedford, N.H./Bishop Guertin), Allison Letourneau (Kingston, Nova Scotia/Berkshire Prep) and Sydney Fitzpatrick (Billerica, Mass./Billerica Memorial) won the distance medley last year and qualified for the ECAC meet. Junior Kaitlyn Dugan (Hatfield, Pa./North Penn Senior) also scored a top finish for UNH last year, placing second in the pentathlon.
Maine is predicted to finish in fourth after a fifth-place finish at last year’s championship. While the team loses 400-meter dash NCAA-qualifier Vicki Tolton to graduation, it boasts 2009 America East cross country champion sophomore Corey Conner (Townsend, Mass./North Middlesex Regional), who will be an asset in the mid-distances. Conner placed fourth in last year’s mile run with an ECAC-qualifying time and was a member of Maine’s winning 4x800-meter relay team. Also a member of the 4x800-meter relay squad, senior Vanessa Letourneau (Fairfield, Maine/Lawrence) will be an asset to Maine after claiming a top individual finish last year. Letourneau finished second in the 800-meter with an ECAC-qualifying time. Sophomore Katherine McGeoghan should also earn points for the Black Bears this year after placing third in the high jump her rookie season.
Senior Aly Millett (Half Moon Bay, Calif./Half Moon Bay) will lead the Catamount squad this year after a strong showing at last year’s indoor championship. Millett placed second in the mile run and fourth in the 1,000-meter. Then at the New England Championship, Millett won the 1,000-meter. Sophomore Marie Fourie (Waterloo, Ontario/Ontario Schools) returns as a more experienced runner after a successful rookie season in which she placed sixth in the 55-meter hurdles at the conference meet before placing second in the event at the New England Championship. Sophomores Marisa Guerette (West Chester, Pa./Unionville), Ase Lundin (Kullavik, Sweden/Universal School) and Bethany Karter-O’Brien (Waterville, Maine/Waterville) also return as more experienced competitors after Guerette finished fifth in the 800-meter, Lundin placed second in the high jump and Karter-O’Brien placed second in the shot put during their freshman campaigns.
Binghamton finished one point behind Vermont to earn sixth in the poll. Among those returning for the Bearcats is graduate student Carly Gross (Woodstock, N.Y./Onteora), who finished second in the pole vault last year. Senior Caitlin Wright (Ithaca, N.Y./Lansing) also earned a top finish for the Bearcats last year, placing fourth in the 800-meter barely off the ECAC-qualifying time. Senior Hana Wright (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua) will also be a top performer for Binghamton after earning a fifth-place finish in the 500-meter at last year’s conference meet. Junior Shannon Finnegan (Niskayuna, N.Y./Colonie) should be a contender for Binghamton in the distance events after capturing a sixth-place finish in the mile run last year.
The Seawolves enter the indoor track and field season led by USTFCCCA Northeast Indoor Track Athlete of the Year junior Lucy Van Dalen (Wanganui, New Zealand/Wanganui Collegiate), who won both the 1,000-meter and the mile at the 2009 championship. In the 1,000-meter, Van Dalen broke the previous record mark which had been set in 1992. Van Dalen also qualified for the NCAA Championship in the mile run. Senior Laura Huet (Carrickmines, Ireland/Loreto College Foxrock) will also be an asset to the Seawolves after posting two second-place finishes in both the 3,000 and 5,000-meter races last year.
UMBC will depend on senior Sara Parkinson (Chorley, England/Loughborough University) and sophomore Imani Colbert (Upper Marlboro, Md./C.H. Flowers). Parkinson claimed two third-place finishes last year in the mile run and the 3,000-meter. Colbert finished second in the 55-meter hurdles and broke a school record. Then at the ECAC meet, Colbert finished fifth in the 60-meter hurdles.
Hartford will need top finishes from key performers sophomore Nicolle Adams (Schoharie, N.Y./Schoharie), who placed eighth in the pentathlon, senior Kaycee Martinez (South Yarmouth, Mass./Dennis Yarmouth Regional), who placed seventh in the 400-meter, and senior Ariana Bass (Penacook, N.H./Concord), who placed sixth in the 500-meter. The Hawks lose top distance runner Elizabeth Foster to graduation.
The 2010 America East Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held at Boston University Track & Tennis Center on February 19-20.
2009 Preseason Poll
Rank Team (1st-place votes) Total
1. Boston University (6) 62
2. Albany (2) 56
3. New Hampshire (1) 52
4. Maine 35
5. Vermont 31
6. Binghamton 30
7. Stony Brook 29
8. UMBC 20
9. Hartford 9