INDOOR TRACK & FIELD NEWS

NJAC TEAMS AND INDIVIDUALS SHINE
AT NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIP

Montclair State University sophomore sprinter Enrigque Llanos (Camden, NJ/Camden) captured the men’s 55 meter hurdles.  Llanos posted a time of 7.46 and held off NJAC rival Shawn Levinson from The College of New Jersey to become MSU’s first male indoor individual champion since 1992. Llanos, who was named the Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year by the United States Track Coaches Association, is the first Red Hawk male or female athlete to win an individual indoor crown since Sharon Lindo in 1993.  

Also for the Red Hawks' men, Ernest Tymes (Philadelphia, PA/Penn Wood) placed fourth in the triple jump (48-feet, 9-inches), while Nick Gregorio (New Providence, NJ/New Providence) was sixth in the shot put (53-feet, 5 ½ inches). Darryl Louis (Trenton, NJ/Trenton) finished third in the 400 meters (48.13) and then helped the 4x400 meter relay team to a third place finish with a time of 3:18.48. Louis anchored the team comprised of Alex Torres (Irvington, NJ/Roselle Catholic), Chris Monaco (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) and Ed Hamilton (Trenton, NJ/Ewing).

On the women’s side, MSU placed 8th, its best placing at the NCAA’s since 1992 when the Red Hawks finished fifth. Junior Tierra Hicks (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) finished second in the 400 meters as she posted a time of 56.16 while freshman Nacole Moore (Bridgeton, NJ/Bridgeton) was second in the shot put with a toss of 46-feet, 6 ¼ inches. 

Also for Montclair State, the U.S. Track Coaches Association named head coach Bennie Benson the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year. Benson, now in his seventh season, was also named Atlantic Region Coach of the Year, and has produced 22 All-Americans during his tenure, including 13 in the indoor season.

For the second consecutive year, New Jersey City University sophomore sprinter Diana Lawson (Union, NJ/Queen of Peace) won the NCAA Division III National Championship in the 55-meter dash. She blazed to the finish in 7.07 seconds, to bring home only the second individual or team NCAA national title in the 75-year history of New Jersey City University.  She set the NCAA Division III record in the 55-meter dash at the 2001 meet when she posted a 6.98 second mark to win her first national title. Even with just one competitor at the NCAA Championships, Lawson's title run allowed NJCU to finish the meet with 10 team points, tied for 15th place overall nationally as a program.

TCNJ senior Erica DiStefano (Trenton, NJ/Notre Dame), a fourth place finisher at the 2001 NCAA ’s in the 55 meter hurdles, took second place in the event on Saturday and finished as the national runner-up in the event with her performance of 8.24, also a TCNJ school record time.   DiStefano, the defending champion in the women's indoor high jump, competed in the high jump as well but failed to place. On the 2001-2002 indoor season, she captured the high jump titles at both the NJAC and ECAC Championships and went undefeated in the event until Saturday (9-0).

Senior Shawn Levinson (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) added his name to TCNJ’s record book with his time in the event. In the finals, he finished in second place to earn All-America honors with his time of 7.53 seconds.  Junior Nick Ricco (Califon, NJ/Voorhees) broke the Lions' school record in the 5000 meter run as he excelled in the race, finishing in 14:39.51 to earn second place and his first All-America award.  TCNJ’ s 4 x 400 relay team competed in the finals after breaking the school record by qualifying in the prelims in 3:18.57. In the finals, TCNJ finished in sixth place with a time of 3:20.43.  The relay team consisted of freshmen Eric Green (East Orange, NJ/Clifford Scott), senior Dave Burns (River Edge, NJ/River Dell Regional), freshman Tim Wilson (Randolph, NJ/Randpolph) and sophomore Kevin Semanick (Lansdale, PA/LaSalle College) .

Richard Stockton College sent two pole vault competitors to the national meet, and both returned as All-Americans.  Kim Marino (Middletown North/ Middletown, NJ) came in 3rd f or the women with a jump of 11' 10-1/2", while Eric Reissek (Vineland/Vineland, NJ) had a vault of 14' 11" to finish tied for 8th place in the men's event.