Curit |
Esernio |
Gray |
Kent |
Pierson |
Schultz |
4x400-meter relay set a program record with a time of 3:49.60 and now ranks 14th in Division II
EASTON, Mass. (February 17, 2015) – Stonehill College junior Trisha Pierson (East Hanover, New Jersey/Hanover Park), freshman Julie Schultz (Billerica, Massachusetts/Billerica), and the women's 4x400-meter relay team have earned weekly track & field honors from the Northeast-10 Conference, the league office announced today.
Pierson collects her second NE-10 Field Athlete of the Week award of the indoor season after registering a distance of 39 feet, 7.25 inches to place 16th in the shot put on Saturday at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational, hosted by Boston University at the BU Track & Tennis Center. The junior was also recognized on January 20th after recording a throw of 40 feet, 1.5 inches at the Tufts University Invitational.
Pierson's best effort so far this season came in the season-opening UMass Boston Indoor Open, when her throw reached a program record distance of 41 feet, 3.25 inches. She currently ranks second in the NE-10 in the shot put, behind only Southern Connecticut State University's Destiney Coward. Pierson achieved throws of at least 40 feet in each of Stonehill's first three meets of the season.
Stonehill's 4x400-meter relay team of senior All-American Maria Curit (Biddeford, Maine/Biddeford) and juniors Jordan Gray (Warwick, Rhode Island/Toll Gate), Jeana Esernio (Stony Brook, New York/Ward Melville), and Leanne Kent (North Andover, Massachusetts/Central Catholic) earns its second consecutive NE-10 Relay of the Week honor after posting a program record and improving its provisional qualifying time for next month's NCAA Championships on Friday.
The relay placed eighth out of 57 entries and clocked in at 3:49.60, bettering its mark of 3:53.61 that was set on February 7th at the University of Rhode Island Coaches Tribute Meet. Gray ran the opening leg in 57.1 seconds, followed by Esernio in 60.3 seconds and Kent in 58.0 seconds, before Curit completed the anchor leg in 53.9 seconds. Stonehill improved its standing from 23rd to 14th among the Division II leaders in the event.
Curit, who has earned a pair of NE-10 Track Athlete of the Week honors this season, is being recognized by the conference office with a weekly award for the 13th time in her career, with ten coming as part of Skyhawk relay teams. Gray garners weekly honors from the NE-10 for the tenth time in her career, while Esernio and Kent earn their sixth and fifth such accolades, respectively.
Schultz is being recognized by the NE-10 for the first time in her career for indoor track & field with her Rookie of the Week selection. The freshman turned in a time of 5:18.86 in the 1-mile run on Saturday, finishing less than a second after senior Brianna Venturo (Taunton, Massachusetts/Coyle & Cassidy) and placing 124th overall.
Stonehill, which is ranked No. 19 in this week's U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II National Computer Rankings, will look to defend its NE-10 Indoor title on Saturday at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center in Boston, Massachusetts.
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