Boen Named USTFCCCA Women’s Indoor Track & Field East Region Coach of the Year

Boen records 54th Coach of the Year award 


Boen

NCAA Division II Regional Award Winners for 2018 Indoor Season

EASTON, Mass. (March 7, 2018) – Karen Boen, head coach for the Stonehill College men's and women's track and field programs was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Indoor Track & Field East Region Women's Coach of the Year, as announced by the organization on Monday.

Boen, who is in her 21st season in charge of the Stonehill College men's and women's cross country and men's and women's track & field programs, has totaled 54 Coach of the Year awards among three seasons and six teams. She most recently led the women's indoor track & field team to its fifth Northeast-10 Conference Championship.

The 2017-18 indoor season was kicked off with multiple season bests and personal bests, where the team had two meets before winter break. Following their time off, the Skyhawks finished eighth at the Beantown Challenge, while five qualified for the New England Championships at the URI Sorlein Invitational the next weekend. Stonehill then took home first at the Branwen Smith-King Invitational, hosted by Tufts University where there were six first-place results.

At the New England Championship, Boen coached three All-New England Performances and one school record. Jillian Caiazzi (Marlborough, Massachusetts/Marlborough) and Elizabeth Hannon (Franklin, Massachusetts/Bishop Feehan) led the Skyhawks at the URI Coaches' Tribute Meet with NCAA provisional qualifying times, the first for both.

Around the middle of February, Stonehill competed at the NE10 Championships and took home its fifth-straight indoor title, matching the NE10 record for consecutive indoor wins, tying the University of Massachusetts Lowell who won the title from 2002-06. The Stonehill women have now won eight-straight combined NE10 titles for cross country, indoor and outdoor dating back to 2015. The squads have also captured 14 of the last 15 combined NE10 Championships since 2013. Boen also coached 15 All-Conference honors at the Championship, while she also saw four individual titles among the team.

After conference championships, a select few went to the BU Last Chance Meet, where Alison Tobin (Hudson, Massachusetts/Hudson) hit the NCAA provisional qualifying mark and new school record in the pole vault and Olivia Dexter (East Calais, Vermont/Union 32) broke her previous school record in the 200-meter dash. The DMR also competed at the meet, where Hannon, Caiazzi, Anna Lastra (Bridgton, Maine/Fryeburg Academy) and Krista Fernandes (Taunton, Massachusetts/Coyle and Cassidy) took home second with a time of 11:39.90, dropping 11 seconds off their personal best time and were four seconds off the school record.

This year, Boen has been named USTFCCCA Men's Cross Country East Region Coach of the Year, and NE10 men's and women's Coach of the Year after seeing both programs win the conference championship. This was the fourth year that she tallied both the men's and women's Coach of the Year Awards in cross country, the other years included: 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2004. Boen's success extends beyond conference level as she has collected East Region Coach of the Year awards for all six teams. Overall, her resume includes 54 NE10/USTFCCCA East Region Coach of the Year Awards, 30 NE10 Championships, and 18 East Region Championships across six teams. Boen, who was inducted into the Stonehill Hall of Fame in 2014, has overseen the development of 50 All-Americans and three Hall of Fame inductees.

The Stonehill women's team will see its 4000-distance medley relay team comprised of Hannon, Caiazzi, Lastra, and Fernandes compete in the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships, which will take place from Friday, March 9-10 at the Robert W. Plaster Center in Pittsburg, Kansas, hosted by the Pittsburg State University.

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter and Facebook. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.