Freshman Corey Thomas has qualified to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships for both the 110-meter hurdles and high jump. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr) |
Stonehill Duo Make NCAA Championships Field
Thomas set for second national appearance in hurdles and high jump to cap freshman year; Fullerton earns first trip to nationals for 1500-meters
2010 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Website
EASTON, Mass. (May 19, 2010) – Two members of the Stonehill College men’s outdoor track and field team have earned invitations to the 2010 NCAA Division II Championships, hosted by Johnson C. Smith University, at Irwin Belk Outdoor Track Complex in Charlotte, N.C., May 27-29.
Junior Patrick Fullerton (Bradford, Mass./Haverhill) qualified for the Championships in the 1500-meter run, while freshman Corey Thomas (Brookline, Mass./BC High) will compete in both the 110-meter high hurdles and the high jump.
"Whenever an athlete is selected into an NCAA championship, you can't help but be extremely proud of their accomplishments,” said Stonehill head coach Karen Boen, in her eighth year in charge of the men’s and women’s track & field programs. “Pat and Corey have worked long hours in all kinds of weather with this goal in mind. To be one of only a small, select group of athletes selected is quite an honor and a testimony to both their athleticism and their commitment to the sport. Stonehill should be very proud of everything they have accomplished and I am confident they will represent their team and the College to the absolute best of their ability."
Junior Patrick Fullerton will run the 1500-meters in Charlotte next week. |
Fullerton, who competed for Stonehill at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in November (placing 105th), qualified 17th in the 1500-meters for the Outdoor Championships with his school-record time of 3:49.07 set Saturday at the New Balance Boston High Performance Twilight Invitational, hosted by the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He placed first out of 29 runners in the event on Saturday.
Fullerton has earned All-New England and All-Northeast-10 Conference honors in the 1500 this spring. He placed fourth at the New England Championships two weeks ago, with a then school-record time of 3:49.27, and was second at the NE-10 Championship breaking the school-record for the first time in 3:49.95 the week prior to that.
Thomas, who qualified for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships for the 55-meter hurdles and high jump in March, will make his first appearance at the Outdoor Championships to cap a record-breaking freshman season. An indoor All-American for the high jump, Thomas is tied for second nationally in that event during the outdoor season with his automatic qualifying and school-record height of 7’0.5” set with his winning performance at the New England Championships two weeks ago. He qualified for the 110-meter hurdles with his winning time of 14.32-seconds (ranked 8th nationally) at the NE-10 Championships.
Thomas, the NE-10 Outdoor Track & Field Freshman of the Year, has earned a locker full of awards in just his first collegiate season. He is the Division II East Region Indoor Male Athlete of the Year for the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), earning NE-10 Indoor Male Athlete of the Year and Indoor Championship MVP honors this season as well.
Fullerton will open the event for Stonehill at the Championships on Thursday, May 27, with the 1500-meter prelims at 5:55 p.m. The final will be run on Saturday, May 29, at 6:15 p.m. Thomas will compete in the high jump on Friday, May 28, starting at 5:10 p.m. The 110-meter hurdle prelims are scheduled for Friday at 7:35 p.m., with the final scheduled for Saturday at 6:32 p.m.
