Fullerton |
Thomas |
All-Americans named Track & Field Athletes of the Week for second-straight week, respectively
Fullerton, an All-American at this year's NCAA Indoor Championships in the 4000-meter distance medley relay, earns the weekly honors for the second-straight week after solidifying his NCAA Championship provisional qualification position as he broke his own program record in the championship flight of the 1500-meter run on Friday night. He placed sixth in the field of 99 competitors in the event with his time of 3:47.62 – marking the fifth fastest time for the event in Division II so far this season. Fullerton broke his previous school record of 3:49.07 set in his qualifying run for the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships at the New Balance High Performance Invitational last May.
Thomas, who earns the weekly award for the third-straight week during the outdoor season, posted a pair of strong finishes in the high jump and 110-meter high hurdles on Saturday. He placed third in the high jump by improving his NCAA Outdoor Championships qualifying standard by a quarter inch with his leap of 6-feet, 11-inches. Thomas matched the runner-up height, but needed one more jump to clear it. He also finished fourth in the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 14.59-seconds, ranking first among non-Division I competitors in both events.
Fullerton qualified for last year NCAA Championships in the 1500 and finished 12th in 3:54.16. He earned All-New England honors last spring in the 1500 with his fourth place finish, while collecting All-Northeast-10 honors with a second place finish in the event at the NE-10 Championships. This past indoor season, in addition to earning All-America honors for the 4000m DMR, he captured the New England Championship in the 1000-meter run with a time of 2:27.04 and also collected All-New England honors as part of Stonehill's 4x800-meter relay team.
Fullerton is also a part of Stonehill's nationally-ranked cross country program, earning All-Region honors each year since transferring from Iona College following his sophomore year. This past fall, he placed fifth overall in 31:14 (10k) after earning first team All-NE-10 honors with a fourth place finish in 24:54.4 (8K) at the Conference championships, leading the Skyhawks to second place team finishes at both events.
Thomas, the indoor national champion for the high jump, has already claimed two All-America honors this year to go with the two he earned for the indoor and outdoor high jump as a freshman. He captured his first national championship last month when he cleared 7-feet, 0.5-inches and also earned All-America honors for the 60-meter high hurdles for the first time with his fifth place finish in a school-record time of 8.08-seconds. Thomas was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II East Regional Field Athlete of the Year for the third-straight season and is a two-time NE-10 Indoor Athlete of the Year after capturing the NE-10 indoor championships for the high jump and 55-meter hurdles in February.
Thomas has won the high jump in ten of the 12 meets, combining indoor and outdoor events, this year and has won the hurdles seven times. He has earned NE-10 Field Athlete of the Week honors seven times overall this season and nine times in his career to go with 12 Freshman of the Week awards in 2009-10 combining indoor, outdoor and track and field selections.
Thomas enjoyed a record-breaking outdoor season as a freshman at Stonehill, qualifying for the NCAA Championships for both the high jump and 110-meter high hurdles. He didn't finish lower than third for the high jump in any of the eight outdoor events he was entered in for Stonehill last spring, posting wins at the Skyhawk Invitational and New Balance Boston Twilight Invitational to go with a second New England title. He won the 110-meter hurdles event in six of the eight outdoor meets he was entered this spring, posting wins at the Bryant Invitational, George Davis Invite, Skyhawk Invitational and New Balance Boston Twilight event to go with his Northeast-10 Conference and New England Championship performances. Thomas was named the NE-10 Male Freshman of the Year for the outdoor season.
Thomas capped the year by placing fourth for the high jump at the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Drake Stadium in June, clearing a school-record height of 7'1.50".
Stonehill returns to action on Friday when it hosts its fourth annual Skyhawk Invitational at W.B. Mason Stadium starting at 4 p.m.
