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DOYLE WINS 1500 NEC TITLE AS WOMEN PLACE 11TH AND MEN TIED FOR NINTH SUNDAY
Posted: May 02, 2010

DOYLE WINS 1500 NEC TITLE AS WOMEN PLACE 11TH AND MEN TIED FOR NINTH SUNDAY

May 2, 2010

BRYANT TRACK & FIELD WRAPS UP NEC CHAMPIONSHIPS
Doyle wins NEC title in 1500 meters as women place 11th, men tied for 9th

Women's results / Men's Results 

Freshman Deirdre Doyle won the women's 1500 meters at the 2010 Northeast Conference Championships Sunday. (Athletic Communications photo)

EMMITSBURGH, Md. – After posting the top time in the preliminaries Saturday, Bryant University freshman standout Deirdre Doyle (Carlow, Ireland) captured the 1500 meter conference title Sunday at the 2010 Northeast Conference Championships. 

The Bryant women finished 11th out of 12 teams competing with a final team total of 18 points, while the men tied for ninth out of the 11-team championships with 24 points.

Doyle, the indoor rookie performer of the meet at the conference indoor season after winning the 3000m and mile indoor titles last February, earned a spot in the outdoor 1500 meter championships with a time of 4:44.23 in the prelims. On Sunday, she captured her third conference crown of the by placing first in a time of 4:46.96, just ahead of Mount St. Mary’s Megan Kinsella who was second in 4:50.32.

Also performing very well Sunday was freshman Megan Robertson (Sewell, N.J.) who ran very well in the 5000 meters where she placed third overall with a season-best time of 18:23.50.

In the field events, senior Melanie Farbotko (Brookline, N.H.) finished 13th in the women’s high jump, clearing 4 feet, 11 inches.  Teammate Joanna Chanaj (Peabody, Mass.) was 14th after also clearing 4-11.

Monmouth scored 201 points to cruise toward a second consecutive women's team title.  The Hawks, who claim their seventh conference crown since 2000, finished well ahead of runner-up Long Island.  The Blackbirds scored 145 points to move up one spot from their third-place showing in 2009.

Meet host Mount St. Mary's overtook Sacred Heart for third place in the team standings thanks to its 4x400m relay performance.  The Mountaineers totaled 100 points over the two-day competition, while SHU scored 99.
 
Combining for 42.50 points, Monmouth junior Mary Wilks and freshman Rachel Watkins were two key reasons why Monmouth was able to repeat.
 
Wilks won both the javelin (43.77m) and the high jump (1.70m) while scoring in the 400-meter hurdles.  That effort landed her the NEC Most Outstanding Field Performer award. 
 
Watkins didn't win an event, but her ability to score in three different events resulted in the freshman earning the NEC Most Outstanding Rookie Performer honor.  She earned a silver medal in the 400-meter hurdles and a bronze in the high jump.  In the 400-meter hurdles, Watkins placed sixth.
 
Monmouth head coach Joe Compagni was named the NEC Coach of the Year while LIU sophomore Jessie Gaines collected two major awards.  The two-time NEC indoor MVP accounted for 44 team points on her way to capturing another Most Valuable Performer honor.
Gaines' victories in the 100m dash and 100m hurdles, as well as her contributions to LIU's silver medal 4x100 relay squad, made her the NEC Most Outstanding Track Performer too.
 
On the men’s side, the Bulldogs got another strong performance from standouts Alex Engel (Spencer, Mass.) and Thomas O’Connor (Westwood, Mass.).   The dynamic duo placed fourth and fifth respectively in the finals of the men’s 400 meters.  Engel finished in a season-best time of 48.33 seconds earning a qualifying spot at the IC4A Championships.  O’Connor, also met IC4A qualifying standards with a fifth-place finish in 48.50.  It was also a season-best for O’Connor in the 400 meters.

In the men’s 1500 meters, Scott Twardowski (Rehoboth, Mass.) placed eighth in a time of 4:01.14.

Andrew Fitzgerald (New Hartford, Conn.) who qualified for the finals of the 400 meter hurdles Saturday, finished sixth in the event in a time of 54.21 seconds.

In the relays, the men’s 4x400 meter relay squad of Michael DiBella (Upper Saddle River, N.J.), Joseph Pugliano (West Springfield, Mass.), O’Connor and Engel took second in 3:16.21, finishing just behind LIU’s first-place team that finished in 3:15.32, but earned the Bulldogs a spot at the IC4A Championships.

In the field events, sophomore Chris Brida (Southampton, Mass.) was eighth in the triple jump, clearing a best mark of 4 feet, 3.50 inches.   

Monmouth scored 214.50 points to top the team standings while Long Island took second place, tallying 137.50 points. Central Connecticut State (79) edged meet host Mount St. Mary's (78.50) by one-half point for third place.

 
Monmouth's Vincent Elardo won three of the four throws on his way to capturing two major post-meet awards - NEC Most Outstanding Field Performer and NEC Most Valuable Performer (MVP).  After winning the shot put and hammer throw on Saturday, Elardo threw 48.13m (157' 11") to capture gold in Sunday's discus competition.  The Hawks picked up a total of 22 points in the event enroute to winning their sixth title in seven years.  Compagni was also named the NEC Men's Coach of the Year.
 
 
Running in front of his home crowd, Mount St. Mary's junior Chadwich Brown claimed the NEC Most Outstanding Track Performer award.  The sprinter posted IC4A Championship-qualifying times in both the 100m (10.71) and 200m (21.65) dashes.  He placed second in the former and landed a first place medal in the latter.
 
LIU freshman Brian Richards made a significant contribution to the Blackbirds' second-place point total.  On his way to capturing the meet's Most Outstanding Rookie Performer honor, Richards won the long jump (7.50m) and took second in the 200m dash (21.71).

Final Men's Team Standings (21 events scored)
1.   Monmouth, 214.50
2.   Long Island, 137.50
3.   Central Connecticut State, 79
4.   Mount St. Mary’s 78.50
5.   Sacred Heart, 74
6.   Robert Morris, 59.50
7.   St. Francis (NY), 57
8.   Saint Francis (PA), 47
9.   Bryant, 24
9.   Fairleigh Dickinson, 24

Final Team Standings (21 events scored)
1.   Monmouth, 201
2.   Long Island, 145
3.   Mount St. Mary’s, 100
4.   Sacred Heart, 99
5.   Saint Francis (PA), 68
6.   Robert Morris, 46
7.   Quinnipiac, 39
8.   Fairleigh Dickinson, 33
9.   Wagner, 31
10. Central Connecticut State, 29
11. Bryant, 18
12. St. Francis (NY), 9