Results
Landover, Md. – The Long Island University women's indoor track and field team brought the 2012 Northeast Conference Championships down to the final event, and despite taking the top spot went on to finish second in the overall team standings. Senior Jessie Gaines captured her fourth MVP title and her third straight most valuable field performer title. Freshman Shakia Williams was named NEC Most Outstanding Rookie.
Gaines set a new NEC record in the 60-meter dash, clocking in at 7.51, bettering her own record from 2011. Senior Charlene Fuller was second with a time of 7.64, while junior Amber Mitchell was fourth with a time of 7.71. Senior Torrie Saunders rounded out the point scorers in the event with a fifth place finish and a time of 7.73.
The Chesapeake, Va. native earned her second gold of the meet in the 60-meter hurdles, going 1-2-3 with Saunders and classmate Jazmin Waller. Gaines clocked in at 8.41, while Saunders earned an 8.71 and Waller crossed the line in 8.75.
Gaines' third gold of Sunday came in the triple jump, where she leapt to a mark of 12.22 meters. Saunders was fifth in the event with a leap of 11.44 meters, and sophomore Camille Thomas was ninth with a mark of 11.00 meters.
Shakia Williams topped the women's 500-meter dash with an ECAC worthy time of 1:15.61. Classmate Katrina Anderson grabbed ninth, clocking in at 1:20.4.
A graduate of Western Branch, the same high school as Gaines, Williams completed a 2-3-4 scoring push in the women's 200-meter dash, coming in fourth with a time of 25.09. Waller was second with a time of 24.84, while senior Kadisha Wickham was third with a time of 25.06. Junior Amber Mitchell and freshman Brittany McClain also competed in the finals of the event.
In the 400-meter dash, Wickham took third with a time of 56.97, while McClain was eighth with a time of 1:00.01. Senior Emily Rosario turned in a time of 2:32.06 in the women's 800-meter dash finals for a ninth place finish.
The combination of Shakia Williams, Waller, Fuller and Wickham took the top spot in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:51.75.
The squad racked up 142 points, only one behind the title taking Monmouth Hawks. Sacred Heart was third with 109.5.
The men's indoor track team earned a tie for third with Central Connecticut State, scoring 108 points. Monmouth took the top spot with 170, and Sacred Heart was second with 116.
Junior Nickolei Mahlung took the top spot in the men's 60-meter dash, crossing the line in 6.84. Senior Jarenn Stewart was fourth, earning a time of 6.95. In the men's 5,000-meter run, junior Rogers Kipruto was sixth with a time of 15:02.07.
In the 200-meter dash, senior Robert Barnes took third with a time of 22.23, while junior Jamal Roberts was fourth with a time of 22.34. Junior Brian Richards was eighth with a time of 22.90, while freshman Mikhail Williamson as ninth with a time of 22.92. Roberts took second in the 400-meter dash finals with a time of 50.11, while junior Dwayne Layne was ninth with a time of 51.72.
Barnes grabbed gold in the 500-meter dash, crossing the line in 1:04.61. Junior Chris Welch was fourth with a time of 1:06.33. Junior Kenneth Wallace Whitfield and freshman Andi Augustin also competed in the final.
Richards took third in the 60-meter hurdles, crossing the line in 8.22. The Blackbirds went 1-2 in the triple jump, with senior Amire Solomon winning with a leap of 14.84 meters. Junior Wilmot Stubblefield was second with a mark of 14.35 meters.
In the men's 4x400-meter relay, Mahlung, Roberts, Williamson and Barnes partnered for a second place finish with a time of 3:19.76. Welch, Wallace Whitfield, Augustin, and Kipruto combined for seventh in the distance medley relay, clocking in at 10:23.29.
The Blackbirds return to action in two weeks at the Fast Track Last Chance Meet at the Armory in New York, N.Y.