Skyhawks Duo Earns NE-10 Weekly awards

Maria Curit
Sarah Wilson

Curit shatters school record in long jump, Wilson provisionally qualifies for NCAA Championships in 800 meter run

EASTON, Mass. (February 20, 2012) – Two members of the Stonehill College women's indoor track and field team have earned weekly awards from the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10), it was announced earlier today. Freshman Maria Curit (Biddeford, Maine/Biddeford) was named the Women's Field Rookie of the Week and classmate Sarah Wilson (West Suffield, Conn./Suffield) has earned Women's Track Rookie of the Week honors.

Curit claimed her first individual title in the long jump at the NE-10 Championships, shattering her own school record in the event with a leap of 17-feet and 9.75-inches at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center. Curit's previous mark was set on January 27 at the same facility (17'6.25"). Curit also finished second in the 400 meter run with a time of 58.00 seconds and ran the lead leg of Stonehill's second place and school record setting 4x400 meter relay earning three All-Conference honors on Saturday.

In the 4x400 meter relay, Curit teamed up with senior Christen Carrier (Manchester, Conn./ Manchester Central), freshman Lauren Hanlon (Georgetown, Mass./Georgetown) and sophomore Katie Polakowski (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) to narrowly set a new school record in the event. The relay team finished second overall at the NE-10 Championships with a time of 4:01.91 breaking the mark of 4:01.97 set on February 18, 2010 by Susan O'Connell, Danielle Wheeler, Kathryn O'Leary and Carrier at the conference championships. Curit ran the lead leg in 59.1 seconds, Hanlon posted a split of 61.4 seconds in the second leg, Polakowski ran a time of 61.8 seconds as the third leg and Carrier finished the relay with a split of 59.5 seconds.

Curit has now been honored by the conference with six weekly awards this season. Curit has earned one Track Athlete of the Week award (2/13), three Track Rookie of the Week honors (12/6/11, 1/23 and 2/13) and one other Field Rookie of the Week award (1/23).

Wilson provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships and established a new school record in the 800 meter run with a second place finish at the NE-10 Championships on Saturday posting a time of 2:15.48. Wilson also ran the anchor leg of Stonehill's conference championship record setting 4x800 meter relay team earning two All-Conference honors on the afternoon for the Skyhawks.

In the 800 meter run, Wilson broke Dana DeIngenis' mark of 2:16.65 set on February 25, 2006 at the New England Championships. Wilson is the second member of Stonehill's indoor track and field team to provisionally qualify for the NCAA Championships individually joining Curit who has qualified in the 400 meter run.

Curit and Wilson have also provisionally qualified for the NCAA's in the distance medley relay along with seniors Jill Alves (Whitman, Mass./Whitman-Hanson) and Maura Ferrarini (Springfield, Mass./Cathedral).

In the 4x800 meter relay, Wilson teamed up with Alves, freshman Erin Rielly (Burlington, Mass./Burlington) and sophomore Elizabeth LaRegina (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield) to break Southern Connecticut State's record from a year ago (9:45.71) with a time of 9:29.08. Alves ran a 2:22 split while Rielly posted an identical 2:22 split in the second leg, LaRegina ran the third leg in 2:25 and Wilson anchored the relay in 2:19.

Wilson collects her third-career Track Rookie of the Week honors after earning recognition from the conference on December 10, 2011 and January 30, 2012.

Curit and Wilson earned five All-Conference honors on Saturday to help the Skyhawks finish second in the NE-10 Championships with 138 points behind the University of Massachusetts Lowell (171 points).

Stonehill returns to action on Friday, February 24 on day one of the New England Championships, hosted by Boston University at the BU Track & Tennis Center in Boston, Mass., at 11:00 a.m.

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