Thomas and Men’s DMR Set to Compete at NCAA Championships


Sophomore All-American Corey Thomas looks to celebrate more success at the NCAA Championships on Friday and Saturday. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr) 

Thomas among favorites in high jump and 60-meter hurdles, DMR ranked fifth

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EASTON, Mass. (March 10, 2011) – Sophomore All-American Corey Thomas (Brookline, Mass./BC High) and the men's 4000-meter distance medley relay team will be representing Stonehill College, ranked 18th in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) national rankings index, and competing for national championships when the 2011 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Adams State College and the Albuquerque, N.M., Convention and Visitors Bureau, take center stage at the Albuquerque Convention Center on Friday and Saturday.

Thomas will get underway on Friday when the high jump finals commence at 3:55 p.m. (EST), followed by the 60-meter hurdles preliminary rounds at 7:35 p.m. The men's DMR final will start at 8:45 p.m., while the 60-meter hurdles final will be Saturday at 6:35 p.m. The NCAA Championships will be webcast live via www.ncaa.com, with links also available through www.stonehillskyhawks.com. Updates will also be made available through the Stonehill athletics Facebook and Twitter pages.

Thomas, named the USTFCCCA Division II East Region Field Athlete of the Year, is among the favorites for both the high jump and the 60-meter high hurdles. He earned All-America honors in the high jump at both the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships as a freshman, placing third at the indoor championships with a leap of 6-feet, 11.5-inches in Albuquerque last winter. Thomas enters the high jump competition on Friday ranked No. 2 nationally with his leap of 7-feet, 1.75-inches to win the Boston University Valentine's Invitational on February 12. He went on to win the Northeast-10 Conference high jump championship for the first time and place second at the New England Championships leading into this weekend.


Senior All-American Daniel Pilz looks to lead the men's DMR to All-America honors for the fourth time in five years. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Thomas is ranked fifth in Division II for the 60-meter hurdles with a converted qualifying time of 8.01-seconds from his NE-10 Championship record winning time of 7.48-seconds at 55-meters. He will be looking to qualify for the finals at nationals for the first time after placing 11th out of 12 runners in the preliminary round at the 2010 NCAA Championships with a time of 8.13-seconds – just 0.05-seconds off the qualifying pace.

Lake Erie freshman Edward Dudley is ranked first for the high jump with a leap of 7-feet, 2.25-inches – the same school-record height Thomas entered first nationally at for the 2010 championships. Lincoln (Mo.) University sophomore Sabiel Anderson leads the qualifiers in the 60-meter hurdles at 7.85-seconds.

Stonehill's distance medley relay team enters Friday night's final ranked fifth nationally with their school-record time of 9:53.45 set at the BU Valentine's Day Invitational. Running for the Skyhawks on Friday will be senior All-American Daniel Pilz (Newington, Conn./Newington) on the opening 1200-meter run, followed by classmate Nathan Morse (Whitinsville, Mass./Holy Name) for the 400-meter leg, sophomore Sean Hanlon (Georgetown, Mass./St. John's Prep) for the 800-meter leg, while senior Patrick Fullerton (Bradford, Mass./Haverhill) will run the anchoring mile leg.

Fullerton, who is an All-East Region performer in the mile this season, will be making his fourth trip to a national event for Stonehill after running the 1000-meters at the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships last May to go with two trips to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Pilz, who earned All-America honors as part of the DMR at the 2009 Championships when it placed seventh, will be making his second appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships to go with four trips to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Hanlon is making his first trip to the indoor championships after competing in the NCAA Cross Country Championships earlier this season for the first time, while Morse is competing at nationals for the first time.

Stonehill is ranked second among East Region entries tomorrow night, following third-ranked Southern Connecticut State University (9:51.31). Host Adams State is the favorite on the basis of a time of 9:50.91 in early February. The Skyhawks have collected All-America honors (top eight) in this event four times in the last five years.

 

Coach's Corner with Karen Boen
Men's Distance Medley Relay Team
 
Sophomore All-American Corey Thomas