Link to Results

EASTON, Mass. – The Southern Connecticut State University women's outdoor track and field team won the 2010 Northeast-10 Conference Outdoor Championship on Saturday for the third time in the past four years. They won the meet with 227.5 points, exceeding their point total from their previous outdoor championships. The Owls won 11 total events on the day and earned 18 First Team All-Conference awards and four Second Team All-Conference selections. They recorded five NCAA provisional qualifying marks, broke three conference championship meet records, five new facility records and three school records. Courtni Walker (Uniondale, N.Y.) was named the Women's Most Valuable Athlete of the Championship and head coach Chris Covert was named the Women's Coach of the Year.

Captain Letecia Taylor (Plainfield, N.J.) excelled in Saturday's meet. She won the 100 meter hurdles by setting a new school, meet, and facility record in 14.06 seconds. This improved her provisional qualifying mark for the 2010 NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships. She now holds the fourth best mark in New England and 13th in NCAA Division II.

Taylor also won the 400 meter hurdles in 1:02.51, a new facility and meet record. Her season best time in the event ranks her third in New England and 13th in Division II. She now holds the indoor 55 meter and 60 meter hurdle records, the 100 meter high hurdles, 400 meter intermediate hurdles, 4x100 meter relay, and 4x100 meter shuttle hurdle relay records.

Taylor also ran the third leg on the championship 4x100 meter relay team. The team comprised of Sahnique Castella (Hartford, Conn.), Sarah Hill (Rockville, Conn.), Taylor and Ashley Bell (Riverhead, N.Y.) set a new school, meet, and facility record with a time of 47.20 seconds. Sherri Gamberale, Courtni Walker, Sonia Hill, and Symone Wong set the previous school record of 47.35 in 2008.

Bell was also a three-time winner at Saturday's championship meet. She won the 100 meter and 200 meter dashes with personal-best times of 12.33 and 25.24 seconds and automatically qualified for the 2010 New England Championships in both events.

Walker was awarded the Most Valuable Athlete of the Championship by the Northeast-10 for her four-event performance. She won the long jump (5.51m/18'01”), took fourth in the triple jump (10.60m/34'09.5”), finished second in the 100 meter dash (12.50) and closed out her meet with a fifth place finish in the 200 meter dash (25.93). Walker automatically qualified for the New England Championships in the 100, 200, and long jump.

Kelsey Proctor (Guilford, Conn.) won the 3,000 meter steeplechase by improving on her own school record set earlier this season with a time of 11:24.21. She automatically qualified for the New England Championships and came within 4.21 seconds of a NCAA provisional qualifying time.

Laura Brustolon (Mystic, Conn.) won the 1,500 meters with a personal-best time and new meet and facility record mark of 4:35.25. Her time improved her NCAA provisional and New England automatic qualifying marks.

Alasia Griebel (Bristol, Conn.) finished second in the 1,500 meters (4:39.13), also eclipsing the old meet and facility record. She set a new personal-best time, improved her New England automatic qualifying mark and came within 1.13 seconds from a NCAA provisional qualifier.

Griebel also led the 4x800 meter relay squad of Katelyn Morrell (Mystic, Conn.), Sarah Grenier (Voluntown, Conn.) and Jaclyn Sullivan (Lisbon, Conn.). They won the event in 9:44.35. Sullivan also finished fifth in the 800 meters with a personal-best time of 2:18.48 and Morrell claimed seventh in the 800 with a time of 2:21.68.

Kimberly Johnson (Lisbon, Conn.) won the pole vault (3.49m/11'5.25”) and set a new facility record. She is already provisionally qualified for the 2010 NCAA Division II Championships and automatically qualified for New England's in the vault, where she is ranked eighth best. Johnson also took seventh in the 100 meter hurdles with a season-best time of 16.78 seconds and finished eighth in the shot put (10.78m/35'04”).

Samantha Spindel (Brewster, N.Y.) won the discus throw (39.31m/129'00). She is provisionally qualified for the 2010 NCAA Championships and automatically qualified for the New England Championship, which she currently ranks seventh best among her competitors. Spindel also finished third in the hammer throw (49.24m/161'06”), only 10 inches short of a NCAA provisional mark and grabbed sixth in the shot put (11.05m/36'03”).

Katherine Reynolds (Hamden, Conn.) finished second in the hammer throw with a NCAA provisional mark of 49.56m (162'07”). She is ranked 13th in the event among New England competitors. Reynolds also competed in the shot put and took fourth place (11.81m/38'09”).

 Teresa Parker (Colchester, Conn.) took second place in the pole vault (3.34m/10'11.5”) and is already automatically qualified for the New England Championships. Alicia Gray (Colchester, Conn.) followed with a third place finish (3.19m/10'5.5”) and also finished eighth in the javelin throw (29.98m/98'04”). Meghan Nicolletta (East Hampton, Conn.) tied for fourth place in the pole vault (3.04m/9'11.75”) and Brittany Niemczyk (Vernon, Conn.) closed out the attack with a sixth place jump (2.89m/9'5.75”). Niemczyk also competed in the 400 meter hurdles and finished in fourth with a New England automatic qualifying time of 1:07.15.

Ashley Battle (Koselle Park, N.J.) finished third in the 100 meter hurdles with season-best time of 14.98 seconds, improving upon her New England automatic qualifying mark. Battle also took fifth in the 400 meter hurdles (1:07.37).

Shaina Barr (Manchester, Conn.) finished third in the 400 meters with a new personal best mark of 57.65 seconds, eclipsing the old meet record and is automatically qualified for the New England Championships.
 
Castella finished sixth in the 100 meters (12.67) and Hill automatically qualified for the New England Championships with a fourth place finish in the 200 meters (25.79).

Rounding out the top performances was Julianna Williamson (Milford, Conn.). She finished fifth in the hammer throw with a new personal-best mark of 39.85m (130'09”)
.
The Owls won the meet with 227.50 points followed by UMass Lowell in second with 168 and Stonehill in third with 141 points.

Southern returns to the track on May 7 for the New England Championships.