Mendelson Powers Women's Track and Field to Third Place Finish at NEC Championships
The CCSU women's indoor track and field team finished third at the 2016 NEC Indoor Championships.
The Central Connecticut women's indoor track and field team finished third at the 2016 NEC Indoor Championships completed on Saturday at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island, NY. Sophomore Brittany Mendelson won the women's mile and was also the anchor of the CCSU distance medley team that claimed gold to give her a total of three gold medals over the two-day championship meet. She went on to be tabbed the 2016 NEC Most Outstanding Women's Distance Runner and NEC Indoor Women's MVP of the meet.
Sacred Heart captured its third straight NEC Indoor Championship with 150 points to beat out LIU Brooklyn and the Blue Devils. LIU was runner-up with 143 points and Central finished third with 72 points. Mount St. Mary's (68.5) was fourth followed by Robert Morris (55.5), Fairleigh Dickinson (54), Saint Francis U (45), Wagner (34), Bryant (33) and St. Francis Brooklyn (7) to round out the 10-team field.
The CCSU women's indoor track and field team will return to action next as select Blue Devils who qualified will compete at the New England Championships on Feb. 26-27. The meet will be held at the BU Track and Tennis Center in Boston, MA.
Sophomore Taylor Boncal finished fourth in the 500 meter dash in a time of 1:18.07, followed in fifth place by freshman teammate Samantha Hartmayer.
Mendelson won the mile in a time of 5:02.71 to earn 10 points for the Blue Devils. She had won the 3000 meter run on Friday in a time of 10:01.65, also good for 10 points.
Junior Melissa Wolliston finished third in the 60 meter hurdles in a time of 8.77. She had qualified first in the event on Friday. Junior Sarah Hicks (8.92) and freshman Sierra Nesmith (9.15) also earned points in the final.
The 400 meter relay team of Boncal, Hartmayer, freshman McKenna Kilian and Nesmith finished fourth with a time of 3:59.86, earning five points.
Mendelson and the distance medley relay team captured first place with a time of 12:21.08, earning another 10 points. She teamed with senior Ally Gates, junior Sherise Truman and junior Jazmin Booker for the victory for the Blue Devils
Freshman Cecelia Blamahsah placed sixth in the high jump with a jump of 1.54 meters, earning three points. Nesmith was seventh in the long jump with a distance of 5.17 meters.
Nesmith earned eight points for the Blue Devils with a second place finish in the triple jump with an impressive distance of 11.64 meters, just .16 meters out of first place.
Senior Chelse Terry was sixth in the weight throw with a distance of 15.38 meters.
