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BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn men's and women's track and field teams have been preparing for the Northeast Conference Indoor Championships this week, ready to travel to the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island, N.Y. for the teams' final indoor meet of the season. The championships for both the men and women will take place on Friday, Feb. 19 and Saturday, Feb. 20.
The men are looking to defend their title and achieve a rare feat of winning three consecutive NEC crowns for LIU, while the women head into the weekend hoping to trade in their silver finish from last season for gold in 2016.
DEFENDING THE TITLE
Competing in his final year at the NEC Indoor Championships, Brendon Rodney is looking to find his way back to the top of the podium in both the 60 and 200-meter dashes, while fighting to keep the NEC Most Valuable Performer and Most Valuable Track Performer honors for the third year in a row. At the 2015 NEC Indoor Championships, Rodney successfully defended his titles in both the 60m dash and 200m dash with times of 6.85 and 21.21, respectively.
Adam Walker-Khan is also looking for his third major award in 2016, having earned the NEC Field Athlete of the Meet for the past two years. He won the long jump for the Blackbirds and secured second in the triple jump behind teammate Amir Armstrong, who took gold in the event.
Mica-Jonathan Petit-Homme became a three-time winner in the 500m dash last season, finishing with a time of 1:04.00, over a second better than the second place finisher. Petit-Homme is setting his sights on remaining undefeated in the 500m dash, an event the senior has not lost at the NEC Championships during his collegiate career.
Alistair McLean is also out to defend his title from last year's championship meet in the 400m dash, in which he sprinted to the finish line in 43.34, besting fellow teammate Rodney by less than a second.
On the women's side, Kyaira Wright-Harmon was an easy selection for NEC Overall Most Valuable Performer and Field Athlete of the Meet at last year's championships, winning three of four jumps while also tying a meet record.
Stephanie Aidoo will fight to reclaim the NEC Most Valuable Track Performer title she won in 2015, following her gold finishes in the 400m dash in 57.05 and the 200m dash in 25.26, just 0.01 second ahead of the second place finisher and teammate, Cemorne Baugh.
Gabriella Ade-Onojobi will be defending her 60-meter hurdles title from last season in which the London native came in at 8.81, her best time of the season.
ROAD TO THE CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Blackbirds have proven to be a major force in the NEC and the track world, flying to the top of the leaderboards and earning numerous accolades along the way.
Most recently, Rodney recorded the fastest time in the world for the 200m dash this year, clocking 20.52. The Ontario native set a new personal best in his signature event and broke his own school record from the previous year. Following his impressive performance, Rodney garnered his second NEC Track Athlete of the Week honor this season. The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) named Brendon Rodney the Corvias ECAC Division I Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week in January after the sprinter clocked 46.62 in the 400m dash, breaking another LIU record and claimed the second-fastest time by a Division I athlete this season.
The Blackbirds have showcased new talent that burst on the scene this season, including Roderick Moodie, Caleb Williams and Deshawne Bunion. Moodie sat atop the NEC leaderboard following his impressive performance in the 60m hurdles at Boston University's John Thomas Terrier Invitational and set a new LIU Brooklyn program record. The Jamaican product shaved nearly 0.2 second off his previous seasonal best, completing the event in 8.02.
Williams has been named the NEC Rookie of the Week twice in his inaugural indoor season with the Blackbirds. In his first 200-meter collegiate contest, the Berlin, NJ native crossed the line at 22.11, setting a personal best at LIU and finished first amongst all Division I collegiate competitors at the Nova Open in January. Williams' performance made him an automatic qualifier for the IC4A Championship in a second event, after already having qualified in the 60-meter dash last month.
Rounding out the impressive rookie class for the Blackbirds is Deshawne Bunion, who garnered his second NEC Rookie of the Week accolade on Monday. Bunion sprinted his way to an automatic bid for the IC4A Championships in the 400-meter dash. Going up against a stacked field at the Great Dane Classic in Staten Island, N.Y., the first-year Blackbird clocked in at 48.94 and ascended to third place on the NEC leader board (at the time trailing only his two senior teammates - Brendon Rodney and Alistair McLean).
On the women's side, Cassandra Jones has been a frontrunner for LIU in the 400 and 500-meter sprints, garnering three weekly awards during the indoor season. Only one meet into her LIU career, Jones established herself as a NEC title contender in the 500m dash, after catapulting to the top of the league's leaderboard with a time of 1:13.91. Her third NEC Track Athlete of the Week honor came on the heels of her finest performance yet. The Canadian-born Blackbird trimmed nearly 0.5 second off her league-leading 400m time while competing at the talent-loaded Boston University Terrier Invitational.
In senior sprinter Cemorne Baugh's first 200m dash appearance this season, she instantly became the NEC's leader in the event, clocking in at 24.83, which qualified her for the ECAC Championships. The Jamaican-born's second NEC honor came after posting seasonal bests in both the 60m and 200m dashes. In the 200m dash, Baugh crossed the line at 24.65 at the New York Metropolitan Championships, trimming 0.18 second off the NEC-leading time she registered on January 22. At the Villanova Invitational, Baugh contested the 60m dash, posting the second-fastest time (7.71) in the NEC at the time.
The 2016 NEC Track and Field Championships will begin on Friday, Feb. 19 with preliminaries and trials of track events, as well as the trials and finals of six field events. The champions will be crowned Saturday, with finals of the remainder of the events beginning at 9:15 a.m.
UP NEXT
The NCAA Indoor Championships are set to take place at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama from Wednesday, March 9 through Saturday, March 12. The Blackbirds will begin their outdoor season at the Coastal Carolina Invite starting on Thursday, March 3 in Myrtle Beach, S.C.