Forty-six outdoor track & field student-athletes will
represent America East and their universities at the upcoming NCAA East
Regional Meet at the Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex at Indiana
University in Bloomington, Ind., May 26-28.
The NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field East
Preliminary Round includes the top 48 qualifiers from each individual event and
the top 24 qualifiers in the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays. The top 12
finishers at the regional meet will go on to compete at the NCAA Championships
in Des Moines, Iowa, June 8-10.
University at Albany, which won both the men's and women's
2011 America East Outdoor Track and Field Championships, boasts 12 entries for
the regional preliminary, including eight on the men's side and four on the
women's, the most combined entries of any America East member. Boston
University is second with 10 total entries. Binghamton University and
University of New Hampshire both have six event entries. University of Maine and
Stony Brook University have student-athletes competing in four events.
University of Vermont has three entries at the regional meet.
The America East women are headlined by a pair of top-three
qualifiers. Boston University junior Katie Matthews qualified second in the
10,000 meters while Stony Brook University senior Lucy Van Dalen is the No. 3
qualifier in the 1,500 meters. Both Matthews and Van Dalen were All-Americans
in the indoor season. University of New Hampshire senior Rita Ciambra qualified
10th in the pole vault, while University of Vermont freshman Nika
Ouellette, the Most Outstanding Rookie at the conference championship,
qualified 12th in the javelin.
On the men's side, four Albany seniors qualified in the top
12 of their event. Luke Schoen, the 2011 America East Championship Most
Outstanding Field Performer, qualified ninth in the pole vault. Wilfredo de
Jesus Elias is the No. 11 qualifier in the hammer throw, while Nasim Siddeeq is
the No. 11 qualifier in the triple jump. Alie Beauvais qualified 12th in the 400-meter hurdles.
A pair of women qualified for two individual events. University
of Maine junior Jesse Labreck, the Coaches' Award winner at the 2011 America
East Championship, will compete in both the long jump and the 100-meter
hurdles. Boston U. junior Shelby Walton, the Most Outstanding Track Performer
at the conference meet, will run in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes.
Boston U. sophomore Allison Barwise, the Most Outstanding
Field Performer at the America East meet, qualified for the high jump at the
East Preliminaries. On the men's side, 2011 America East Most Outstanding Track
Performer and Coaches' Award winner R.J. Page, a junior from Boston U.,
qualified for the 200-meter dash and will also compete as a member of the
Terriers' 4x400-meter relay at the regional meet.