Senior Jordan Gray (right) hands off to classmate Erin Carberry (left) at the 400m/800m exchange. Gray was running her third DMR at nationals, while Carberry made her NCAA Championships debut. (PHOTO BY Mike Gullett) |
Following near misses the last two years, Skyhawks finish sixth at NCAA Indoor Championships
PITTSBURG, Kansas. (March 11, 2016) – After narrowly missing out on All-American honors each of the last two seasons, the Stonehill College women's 4000-meter distance medley relay got its elusive honors in school-record fashion by taking sixth place at the 2016 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Pittsburg State University and the Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau, at the Robert W. Plaster Center tonight.
Stonehill's sixth place finish came in a school-record time of 11:35.05, breaking their own previous mark of 11:36.33 by over a second which was set with its New England Championship winning performance at the New England Championships two weeks ago. Senior Jordan Gray (Warwick, Rhode Island/Toll Gate) and junior Nicole Borofski (Plymouth, Massachusetts/Plymouth North) collect the second All-America honors of their careers, while senior Erin Carberry (Milton, Massachusetts/Thayer Academy) and junior Aisha McAdams (North Kingstown, Rhode Island/North Kingstown) earn All-America status for the first time in their careers with tonight's efforts.
"They really had to run their individual best times to have a shot at winning the national championship," said Stonehill Hall of Fame head coach Karen Boen, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) East Region Coach of the Year. "They showed up with full intentions of getting on the podium and ridding themselves of the DMR demons of the past."
McAdams ran the opening 1200-meter leg in 3:35 sticking in the lead pack between second and third for the majority of her portion, before handing the baton to Gray for the 400-meter leg in fifth place. Gray completed her leg in 56.6-seconds to hold on to fifth for Carberry who ran the 800-meter portion in 2:14.5. By this portion of the race, the lead pack of four had gained some distance on the field. Borofski ran the one mile anchor leg in 4:48.4 to round out the program record and All-America effort.
Borofski, Gray and McAdams were all part of last year's DMR that finished 11th at the NCAA Championships, while Gray was a member of the 2014 team that placed ninth. Borofski's All-America award is the second of her track and field career to go with one in cross country this fall, having earned second team honors for the 3000-meter steeplechase at the 2015 NCAA II Outdoor Championships. Gray earned All-America honors for the first time with the 4x400-meter relay at the 2015 Indoor Championships.
Hillsdale won the event in 11:24.39, followed by University of Minnesota-Duluth in second (11:26.86) and Adams State University in third (11:28.53). Stonehill's sixth place finish earns the program three points towards the team championship with the Skyhawks sitting in 25th place following the completion of day one.
Borofski will be in action for day two of the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships when she competes in the 3000-meter run final at 7:40 p.m. (EST).
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