Curit, Mahoney and McBride all honored in two events to lead Stonehill

Emily Anderson	Caroline McBride
Chelsea Bishop	Meaghan Olin
Christen Carrier	Kristen Veit
Maria Curit	Sarah Wilson
Kristen Mahoney

EASTON, Mass. (May 16, 2012) – Nine members of the Stonehill College women's outdoor track and field team have earned All-East Region honors from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for their performances during the 2012 outdoor season.

The top five from each region in individual events and each member of a relay ranked in the region's top three have earned the All-Region distinction for the 2012 outdoor season. A total of 1,274 athletes have received 1,854 USTFCCCA All-Region nods. The USTFCCCA regions also match those used for the NCAA Cross Country Championships.

Since the USTFCCCA began recognizing student-athletes during the 2010-11 season for All-Region honors, the Skyhawks have compiled 31 All-East Region accolades counting both indoor and outdoor seasons. This season's outdoor group ties the highest total from either season and ranks first among both outdoor All-East Region squads since the awards inception.

Freshman Maria Curit (Biddeford, Maine/Biddeford), senior Kristen Mahoney (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) and junior Caroline McBride (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) lead the group of Skyhawks honored by the USTFCCCA earning two All-East Region selections, respectively.

Curit has earned honors in the 400-meter run and the long jump while Mahoney and McBride were recognized for their efforts in both the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter runs.

The USTFCCCA also recognized freshman Emily Anderson (Manchester, Conn./Manchester), sophomore Chelsea Bishop (Suffield, Conn./Suffield), senior Christen Carrier (Manchester, N.H./Manchester Central), sophomore Meaghan Olin (Goshen, N.Y./Goshen), junior Kristen Veit (Easthampton, Mass./Holyoke Catholic) and freshman Sarah Wilson (West Suffield, Conn./Suffield) with All-East Region accolades.

Curit collects her fifth-career USTFCCCA All-East Region honor after earning three All-East Region selections during the indoor season (400-meter run, long jump and distance medley relay). Curit garnered first-career All-New England honors at the New England Championships last week placing fifth overall in the 400-meter run with a time of 56.92-seconds.

At the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) Championships, Curit turned in a stellar performance shattering her school record in the 400-meter dash with a first place finish in 56.58-seconds. Curit, who earned NE-10 All-Conference honors for her performance, broke her previous mark of 57.58-seconds set on April 14 at the Skyhawk Invitational. Curit also notched All-NE-10 honors in the long jump as she placed second with a leap of 18-feet and 3.25-inches to break her own school record in the event. She was also a part of Stonehill's 4x400-meter relay team that finished third with a time of 3:54.44.

In addition to her two individual school records this season, Curit teamed up with senior Jill Alves (Whitman, Mass./Whitman-Hanson), Carrier and Wilson to shatter the school record mark in the 4x800-meter relay at the 117^th Penn Relays. Curit opened up the relay with a split of 2:19.5, Alves followed and posted the fastest split on the squad running the second-leg in 2:16.6, Wilson ran the third-leg in 2:18 and Carrier capped off the record breaking run with a 2:17.1 split as the anchor-leg for a total time of 9:11.51.

The Skyhawks 4x800-meter relay team broke the previous mark of 9:26.14 set by Alves, Lindsay Booth (Franklin, Mass./Franklin), Hilary Curtis (Scarborough, Maine) and Kristina Coriaty (Brockton, Mass) on May 9, 2009 at the New England Championships hosted by UMass Amherst.

Overall on the season, Curit has been a part of three school records, finished first overall in five different races (four individual events, one relay) and posted 11 top-five finishes. She has also earned eight NE-10 Conference Weekly Awards. Curit collected one Track Athlete of the Week award (4/9), five Track Rookie of the Week selections (4/3, 4/9, 4/16, 4/23, 5/14) and two Field Rookie of the Week honors (4/9, 4/16).

McBride picks up her sixth-career All-East Region honor as the junior distance runner has compiled four honors in the 5,000-meter run and two selections in the 10,000-meter run. McBride earned All-New England status for the first time in her career with a second place showing at last weekend's New England Championships. McBride posted a time of 37:31.77 to shatter her own school record in the event which she originally set at the Skyhawk Invitational on April 14 earlier this season.

She also successfully defended her title in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 38:29.88 at the NE-10 Championships. McBride, who earned All-NE-10 accolades with her first place performance, broke the meet record by more than a minute. Melissa Bredice from The College of Saint Rose set the previous mark on May 3, 2008 with a time of 39:30.33.

Mahoney wraps up her career at Stonehill with six All-East Region honors claiming three nods as a 5,000-meter runner and three selections as a 10,000-meter participant (indoors and outdoors). The senior collected All-New England honors in the 10,000-meter run posting a time of 37:48.31 for fourth place overall. Mahoney picked up her second-career All-New England honor (outdoors) in the 10,000-meter run after finishing eighth overall at the 2011 championships in 38:16.17.

At the NE-10 Championships, Mahoney earned NE-10 All-Conference honors in the 5,000-meter run with a second place finish in 18:04.53. Mahoney finished third overall at the Skyhawk Invitational in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 37:40.01 and maintains her school record in the 5,000-meter run outdoors with a time of 17:29.40 which was set on April 22, 2011 at the Larry Ellis Invitational hosted by Princeton University.

Anderson earns her first-career All-East Region honor in the 1,500-meter run. Anderson placed eighth overall in the event at the New England Championships in a near-personal best time of 4:40.11. For her efforts, Anderson picked up All-New England honors. Anderson also finished third overall in the 1,500-meter run at the NE-10 Championships with a personal best time of 4:40.04 and collected All-NE-10 honors in the 4x800-meter relay with a first place/meet record time of 9:24.99 along with teammates Erin Rielly (Burlington, Mass./Burlington), senior Maura Ferrarini (Springfield, Mass./Cathedral) and sophomore Elizabeth LaRegina (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield).

Anderson also garnered NE-10 Track Rookie of the Week honors on April 30 as she placed ninth overall in the 1,500-meter run among 31 competitors at the Brown Springtime Open Invitational with a time of 4:41.84.

Bishop collects her first-career All-East Region honor joining Mahoney and McBride in the 10,000-meter run for the outdoor season. Bishop finished third overall in the event at the conference championships with a time of 39:44.50. Bishop posted a first place finish in the 5,000-meter run at the Skyhawk Invitational with a time of 18:37.27 and also placed 12^th overall out of 25 competitors in the 1,500-meter run at the Holy Cross Crusades in 4:58.50.

Carrier claims her second-career All-East Region honor in the 800-meter run with her NCAA provisional qualifying time and second place finish at the NE-10 Championships in 2:13.85. Carrier earned All-NE-10 honors for her performance and broke her own school record of 2:14.35, which she set on May 8, 2010 at the New England Championships. Carrier was also a part of Stonehill's school record setting 4x800-meter relay team at the 117^th Penn Relays and the Skyhawks 4x400-meter relay school record squad at the Holy Cross Crusades (3:54.47/Alves, Curit, Wilson).

Carrier currently holds indoor school records in the 500-meter run, 4x400-meter relay and 4x800-meter relay in addition to her three school records outdoors (800, 4x400, 4x800).

Olin finished third overall in the pole vault at the NE-10 Championships by tying her school record mark of 9-feet and 6.25-inches for third place overall to notch her second-career All-East Region honor. Olin has competed in the event six times this season and originally broke her own school record in the event with a mark of 9-feet and 6.25-inches at the Holy Cross Crusades. Olin currently holds the school record for the pole vault both indoors and outdoors.

Veit picks up her second-career selection to the All-East Region squad in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and fourth overall as she also has collected honors in the one mile run and distance medley relay, both indoors. Veit successfully defended her NE-10 title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 11:13.82. Veit earned her second-career NE-10 All-Conference honor in the event after placing first overall in last season's outdoor championships with a time of 11:37.45.

Veit also finished 15^th overall at the New England Championships in 11:54.70 and second overall at the Skyhawk Invitational with a time of 11:38.70.

Wilson compiles her third-career All-East Region selection after earning honors in the 800-meter run and the distance medley relay indoors. Wilson, now a two-time selection in the 800-meter run, placed third overall in the event with a time of 2:14.61 at the NE-10 Championships. Wilson is a member of both Stonehill school record relay teams, 4x400 and 4x800, this season and finished in the top-ten or better in every 800-meter run she participated in. At the Holy Cross Crusades, Wilson ranked sixth overall out of 25 competitors in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:49.98.

Stonehill concluded the outdoor season last weekend at the New England Championships, hosted by MIT at Henry G. Steinbrenner Stadium in Cambridge, Mass.