Nesmith Claims Triple Jump Gold Medal to Lead Women's Track At NEC Championships
Sophomore Sierra Nesmith took first place in the triple jump at the second day of the NEC Championships.
Sophomore Sierra Nesmith won the 2017 Northeast Conference Championship in the triple jump on Saturday, Feb. 18 to lead Central Connecticut in day two of the finals inside Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island, NY. Nesmith's gold medal jump of 11.53 meters helped the Blue Devils to a fourth place finish with 76.5 points. Sacred Heart won its fourth straight championship with a total of 126.67 total points.
Friday, Senior Brittany Mendelson won her second straight 3,000 meter run title with a time of 10:05.04.
The Blue Devils'championship day began with a silver and bronze finish in the 60 meter hurdles from seniors Melissa Wolliston and Sarah Hicks, respectively. Wolliston finished at 8.76 (eight points), and Hicks ran a personal best time of 8.87 (six points).
The Central Connecticut distance medley relay team finished second to gain six points behind Bryant, with a time of 12:20.78. The quartet of runners included, freshman Megan Brawner, sophomore McKenna Kilian, and seniors Jazmin Booker and Brittany Mendelson.
Rounding out the CCSU medalists was sophomore Madeline Mondo, who set a new personal record time in the 5,000 meter run of 17:48.47, and finished in third place (six points) in the final standings. Sophomore Dawn Hubbell finished in ninth, clocking in at 18:18.52.
The women's 4x400 meter relay team consisting of senior Tayler Boncal, Wolliston, freshman Erica Snape, and Nesmith recorded a time of 3:56.54 (5 points), good for a fourth place finish. Yesterday's 3K NEC Champion, Brittany Mendelson, placed fourth overall in the mile, crossing the checkered stripe at 5:04.06.
Boncal finished the 500 meter dash in fifth place (four points) at 1:18.49. In addition to winning the triple jump, Nesmith also scored three points for CCSU in the 400 meter dash with a time of 58.19.
Closing out Saturday's NEC Championship events, was freshman Valeria Hernandez and junior Abrah Toomey in the shot put. Hernandez threw 10.76 meters (15th place), and Toomey threw a distance of 10.52 meters (16th place).
You can watch all of the highlights and interviews from this year's Northeast Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships on NEC Front Row.
The Central Connecticut indoor women's team will next compete at the New England Championships at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center in Boston, MA on Friday, February 24-25.