Thomas Named USTFCCCA Division II East Region
Male Field Athlete of the Year
Brookline, Mass., native first Stonehill field athlete to earn top regional honor
EASTON, Mass. (March 5, 2010) - Stonehill College freshman Corey Thomas (Brookline, Mass./BC High) has been named the East Region Indoor Male Field Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association today. He is the first East Region Field Athlete of the Year in program history and the second Indoor Male Athlete of the Year, joining former All-American Keith Gill who collected both the regional and national track athlete of the year awards in 2007-08.
Thomas, the Northeast-10 Conference
Male Athlete of the Year, is ranked first in Division II for the
high jump entering next weekend's NCAA Division II Championships in
Albuquerque, N.M. He regained the top spot for the second time this
season when he cleared a school-record 7'2.25" to capture the New
England Championship last weekend at the Boston 
University Track & Tennis Center. The height is tops in
Division II by nearly an inch, leading NE-10 rival Noel James, a
freshman from American International College, who had edged Thomas
out for the NE-10 Championship the week before with a then DII-best
leap of 7'1.5". Prior to that, Thomas held the top spot in Division
II with his height of 7'1" in winning the event at the Reebok
Boston Collegiate Indoor Games on January 29.
Thomas also enters the NCAA Indoor Championships ranked third nationally in the 60-meter high hurdles with his automatic qualifying time of 7.98-seconds. He earned All-New England honors in the 55-meter hurdles last weekend with his second-place finish with a time of 7.45-seconds - just .04 behind winner Tyler Cotto from the University of Massachusetts. He broke the school-record for the sixth time this season, eclipsing his time of 7.51-seconds in winning the NE-10 Championship the week before.
Thomas has won the high jump in four events (Reebok, Wheaton, Tufts & New England's) to go with three victories in the 55-meter hurdles (Jay Carisella Invite, Wheaton & NE-10 Championships) in his first collegiate season. He was named the Most Valuable Athlete at the Northeast-10 Championships and is a four-time NE-10 Track Freshman of the Week and two-time Field Freshman of the Week.
Thomas will compete for the high jump title on next Friday, March 12, at 2:55 p.m. (Mountain Standard Time). The 60-meter hurdle prelims start on Friday at 6:55 p.m. (MST), with the final set for Saturday at 5:05 p.m. (MST). The championships will be held at the Albuquerque Convention Center, co-hosted by Adams State College and the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau and New Mexico Sports Authority. The championships will be streamed lived on www.ncaa.com both days of the championships.
