Gaines repeated her Most Outstanding Rookie performance from the indoor season, capturing the 100-meter hurdles in a time of 14.57. In the long jump, Gaines took second place with a season-best leap of 5.57 meters. The freshman earned a fourth place showing in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.48. Gaines was responsible for 26 of LIU's 118.5 points individually and was part of the winning 4x100-meter relay squad with junior Joyce Atagwe and freshmen Torrie Saunders and Jazmin Waller. The time was an NEC meet record, breaking the previous time of 47.00.

 

Senior Selina Munoz blew away the field in the 800-meter dash by over three seconds for her first NEC title in 2:14.68. Classmate Heather Patton completed the NEC sweep of the triple jump, answering her indoor title with a resounding jump of 12.43 meters. Atagwe had a pair of top-five finishes in the sprinting events. In the 100-meter dash, Atagwe posted a time of 12.40 for third place and in the 200-meter dash she finished fifth in a time of 25.47.

 

Senior Andre Marcano set the pace in the men's 100-meter dash, winning the race in 10.75. The tandem of junior Julius Mutekanga and senior Sheldon Goffe finished first and second in the 800-meter run, respectively. Mutekanga defended his title in the event with a time of 1.54.27 followed closely by Goffe who posted a time of 1:55.06.

 

Senior Shavar Clarke was edged in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.87, losing out to Monmouth's Geoff Navarro by .03. The men took home the 4x400-meter relay title in a time of 3:13.82 behind strong runs from Goffe, Mutekanga, junior Eric Tyler and sophomore Samuel Egadu.

 

Egadu turned in pair of top-six finishes. Egadu finished the 400-meter dash in 49.40, good for fifth place. In the 200-meter dash, the sophomore took sixth place when he crossed the finish line in 22.17. The Blackbirds missed out on the 800-meter relay crown by 1.35 seconds, taking second in 7:45.83.

 

Long Island will take its qualifiers to the ECAC/IC4A Championships on May 16-17 in Princeton, N.J.