Women's Track Repeats as NEC Runner-Up, Nesmith Deemed MVP
Junior Sierra Nesmith was named the NEC MVP for the first time in program history.
The Central Connecticut women's outdoor track & field team finished its Northeast Conference championship run as the 2018 NEC Runner-Up for the second straight season. Sacred Heart won the title with a total of 136.5 points and CCSU combined for 128 points in second place. Mount St. Mary's placed third (122.5), followed by Robert Morris (120), LIU Brooklyn (112), Saint Francis U. (81), Wagner (40), Fairleigh Dickinson (39), Bryant (27) and St. Francis Brooklyn (13).
The New Britain crew won nine medals including four gold, three silver and two bronze. Two Central's four individual gold medals came from junior Sierra Nesmith (triple jump, 400m hurdles) en route to being name the 2018 Most Valuable Performer. Nesmith becomes the first female athlete to receive the honor in CCSU outdoor track and field program history.
Central Connecticut scored a total of 20 points in the 5,000 meter run with four finishers in the top-10, led by senior Brittany Mendelson who claimed her third-straight 5K outdoor title. Mendelson outlasted Sacred Heart's Kate Svensen to repeat as the NEC's 5K champion with an ECAC qualifying time of 17:14.47.
Nesmith won gold in the triple jump with a mark of 11.63 meters (10). Seizing her second conference title of the day, Nesmith snagged gold in the 400 meter hurdles to repeat her title from last year with a time of 1:02.27.
Sophomore Megan Brawner out-ran Bryant's Olivia Weiss to capture the women's 1,500 meter gold medal by a time differential of .60 seconds. Brawner crossed the finish line at 4:39.80 to earn CCSU 10 points.
Junior Madeline Mondo won bronze in the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of 10:49.08. In the 5,000 meter run, Mondo placed fourth with a personal record time of 17:45.41. Brawner was right behind the junior in fifth place while setting a new collegiate personal best time of 17:46.51. Brawner destroyed her old top record of 18:55.66 set at the 2017 NEC Championship. Junior Dawn Hubbell placed eighth and clocked in at 18:02.16.
Placing fourth in the javelin was sophomore Gianna D'Amato who threw a mark of 40.01 meters (5). Sophomore Abrah Toomey also scored for CCSU in sixth place with a mark of 38.76.
Sophomore Angie Rafter finished in fourth place in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:16.00.
Central placed fourth and seventh in the 100 meter hurdles to gain seven points. Sophomore Hailey Rospierski finished fourth with a time of 14.80 seconds and senior Melissa Wolliston was seventh with a time of 15.04 seconds.
The 4x400 meter relay team placed sixth overall with a time of 4:02.71.
Freshman Kaitlyn Stevens placed 10th overall in the steeplechase for CCSU.
The CCSU 4x100 meter relay team scored and placed fourth place with a time of 48.07 seconds.
Toomey placed 12th in the hammer throw final with a mark of 41.03 meters. Sophomore Valeria Hernandez was 19th with a mark of 35.06 meters and fellow classmate Celine Delice was 22nd with a mark of 29.46 meters.
Freshman Kiley Rodriguez placed 11th in the 5K while setting a new personal record time of 18:26.39. Senior Olivia Mondo finished in 16th place a time of 18:54.10.
The Blue Devil will next compete at the ECAC Championships at Weaver Stadium in Princeton, NJ on May 12-13.
