CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The University at Albany women, who claimed their first indoor track and field title this season, are predicted to again edge out Boston University for the 2010 America East Outdoor Track and Field title according to the preseason coaches’ poll. The Great Danes garnered 63 points and seven first-place votes.
The Terriers came in a close second earning two first-place votes and 57 points followed by University of New Hampshire (51 points) in third. University of Maine (42) ranks fourth while Binghamton University (31) is fifth. University of Vermont (29) places sixth only two points out of fifth followed by UMBC (22), Stony Brook University (21) and University of Hartford (8), which rank seventh, eighth and ninth in the preseason poll.
The Great Danes captured their first indoor title in program history this season and look to earn their second straight outdoor title this year. The squad will be led by senior Fey Adaramola (Bronx, N.Y./Trevor/Central Florida), the 2010 Female Indoor Track Performer of the Meet. Adaramola claimed the 55m dash and the 200m titles this winter and seeks to capture two more this spring. She seeks to defend her titles in the 100m and 200m at the outdoor meet. Senior Laura Cummings (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore/North Carolina) should also earn major points for Albany in its quest for another title. Cummings finished third in the 1,000m and 5,000m and fifth in the mile run this winter and looks to again capture top finishes in the 800m, the 1,500m and 3,000m steeplechase at the outdoor meet. Junior Celine Cauderlier (Entzhein, France/Lycee Louis Pasteur/Université Louis Pasteur) finished third in the pole vault at last year’s outdoor championship, but won the title at the indoor meet this year and hopes to have similar results this spring.
Boston U. will fight to reclaim the title with the help of senior Sarah Mosser (East Aurora, N.Y.), senior Whitney Ford (White Plains, N.Y.) and freshmen Nikko Brady (New Castle, Del.) and Allison Barwise (Orange, Conn.). Mosser, the 1,000m indoor champion, will look to claim another middle distance title this year in the 1,500m. In the field, Ford and Brady will be assets. Ford claimed the triple jump title this winter, improving on her third-place finish at the 2009 outdoor championship. She also posted a second-place finish in the long jump behind Brady. Brady not only captured first in the long jump but also raced to first in the 55m hurdles, earning her the Most Outstanding Rookie of the Meet award. Barwise is also a potential point earner for the squad, garnering the Coaches’ Award for Most Points Compiled by a Female Athlete at the indoor championship after winning the pentathlon.
New Hampshire, picked to finish third this year, hopes to improve on its second-place finish at last year’s meet with the help of its junior class. Junior Allison Letourneau (Kingston, Nova Scotia/Berkshire Prep) looks to continue a strong junior year and add to her title tally. Letourneau claimed the 800m run indoor title after finishing third in the event at the outdoor championship. Junior Erica Jesseman (Scarborough, Maine/Scarborough) will also be a point earner in the distance events, placing second in the 5,000m run this winter and second in the 10,000m last spring. Junior Kaitlyn Dugan (Hatfield, Pa./North Penn Senior) will also be a potential point earner after placing third in the pentathlon this winter and third in the heptathlon last spring. In the throwing events, the squad will look to senior Ashlee Lathrop (Sherburne, N.Y./Sherburne-Earlville) hopes to remain dominant in the 2010 outdoor season. Lathrop won the indoor weight throw and is the defending champion in the discus and hammer throw.
The Black Bear squad boasts sophomore track and field title holders Corey Conner (Townsend, Mass./North Middlesex Regional) and Jesse Labreck (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee). Conner claimed the 1,500m title last spring, the cross country title this fall and the mile run title this winter. She will look to defend her 1,500m title this spring. Labreck finished first in the high jump and second in the triple jump at the indoor meet and hopes to have similar success at the outdoor championship. Maine also returns two-time defending America East 400m champion senior Vicki Tolton (Smithers, British Columbia/Smithers Secondary). Tolton claimed an ECAC title in the event last year and will hope to have a repeat performance this spring. The squad will also have the help of freshman Cearha Miller (Waldorf, Md./Oxon Hill), who earned silver in the 200m dash.
Binghamton hopes to improve on its predicted fifth-place finish with the help of its freshmen who posted victories at the indoor championship. Rookies Jessica Hennig (Pine Bush, N.Y./Pine Bush) and Jenna Marrione (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) won the 400m dash and the pole vault, respectively. Junior Caitlin Wright (Ithaca, N.Y./ Lansing) also claimed titles for the squad, placing first in the 500m. Wright seeks to defend her 400m hurdle title at this year’s outdoor meet.
Senior Alyson Millett (Half Moon Bay, Calif./Half Moon Bay) will lead the Catamount squad in search of a top finish at the outdoor championship. Millett finished fourth in the 1,500m last spring and second in the 1,000m and mile run this winter. Freshman Julie McGilpin (Westfield, Mass./Westfield) also picked up a top finish for Vermont, placing second in the 800m. She will look to improve in her rookie season and claim a title at the outdoor meet.
UMBC will look to senior Sara Parkinson (Chorley, England/Loughborough University) to be a major point earner for the squad. Parkinson finished in the top-five of all three distance events this winter. She won the 5,000m, placed third in the 3,000m and fourth in the mile run. Last spring, Parkinson claimed sixth in the 1,500m, but hopes to do better after a successful indoor season. Senior Britney Foreman (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) will also be a potential point earner for the squad. Foreman placed second in the 55m dash this winter and second in the 100m dash last spring.
The Seawolf squad hopes to do better than its predicted eighth-place finish with the help of junior Holly Van Dalen (Wanganui, New Zealand/Wanganui Collegiate). Van Dalen, the 2010 USTFCCCA Northeast region Indoor Female Track Athlete of the Year, captured the 3,000m title at the indoor championship and placed 14th in the 5,000m at NCAAs. She hopes to beat out her top competitor this year, Maine’s Conner, for the 1,500m title. With the help of Van Dalen, the 4x800m relay team will also look to defend its title and set another record at this year’s outdoor meet.
To move up from ninth, Hartford will need strong performances from sophomore Nicolle Adams (Schoharie, N.Y./Schoharie) and its two top throwers junior Diana Kornberg (Highland Mills, N.Y./Monroe Woodbury/Wheaton) and freshman Brittney Lawson (Woonsocket, R.I./Woonsocket). Adams placed sixth this winter in the indoor pentathlon and hopes to improve on her fourth place finish last spring in the heptathlon. Kornberg and Lawson finished fourth in the shot put and weight throw, respectively, and seek to finish top three this spring.
2010 Preseason Poll
Rank Team (1st-place votes) Total
1. Albany (7) 63
2. Boston University (2) 57
3. New Hampshire 51
4. Maine 42
5. Binghamton 31
6. Vermont 29
7. UMBC 22
8. Stony Brook 21
9. Hartford 8