The way things had gone so far in the season for Northeastern track coach Sherman Hart, he couldn’t help but be wary of his team’s chances as he drove to Boston University on Friday for the start of the America East Championships.
At first questioning how his team would fare against the AE’s best, the coach suddenly reversed his unfavorable thought process.
“I woke up and I thought ‘God, I could lose with both the men and the women,'” the coach said. “I drove a block and thought ‘The hell with it, let’s go win them both.'”
As if on cue from Hart’s morning drive to Commonwealth Avenue, the Huskies did just that. NU claimed America East’s biggest prize for both squads, as the women stayed far ahead of favored Boston University by 39.5 points, while the men pulled out a nerve-racking one-point victory over league rival University of Albany.
The men were leading the meet’s final event, the 4×400, when the event’s third runner, Charles Cameron, dropped the baton. However, the senior hurdler refused to bow under pressure, quickly picking up the stick and feeding Idris Payne for the final leg.
Payne rushed ahead, keeping the team ahead of Albany, and in the process, clinched the top prize for the Huskies. Fittingly enough, the Huskies wil move to the Colonial Athletic Association next season.
“[Cameron] dropped the stick, but did a great job of picking it up and keeping us in that race,” Hart said of the event, which gave the men their first league crown since 2002. “Idris, who was on all meet, kept running well right there at the end.”
Payne, coming off a monster junior season, knew it was his time to shine. In setting a new NU and America East record time of 21.38 in the 200, while also winning the 400 (46.76) in a new meet record, he was named the Most Outstanding Track Performer.
“The law of averages was on my side,” Hart said with a laugh over Payne’s chances for success at the meet. “He was overdue for a breakthrough. He’s been up and down all season, but sooner or later, I knew the real Idris would show up.”
For Albany, which placed ahead of the Huskies at both the Reebok Indoor Games and the Great Dane Classic, while also claiming the America East last season, things were a little bit different this weekend.
“Albany had beaten us soundly twice this year,” Hart said of his team’s dissapointing finishes in the previous two meets. “But we came, stepped up our game and threw them off.”
Freshman Jake Sherman raised many eyebrows in front of America’s East top competition, when the Dennis native set a school record of 4,680 in the hepathlon, finishing second in the event. Also instrumental for the men was Luis Moreira, another rising freshman for the program, who led the Huskies in taking three out of the top four spots in the 55-meter hurdles.
Moreira’s winning time was 7.52, while Peter Jasmin followed at 7.61, and Cameron came in at fourth (7.70).
“Luis came up big; it was a breakout meet for him,” Hart said of Moreira who, in claiming the meet’s most total points, was awarded the America East Coaches Award. “This was his first championship, so what a way to start.”
Senior Steve Langton showed off his versatility in placing third in the 55 dash (6.54), fourth in the long jump (21’10.75) and sixth in the high jump (6’4”).
After a fourth-place finish in the preliminaries, Conrad Dalton stormed ahead in the finals of the 500, losing out by just four tenths of a second to BU’s Dan Ruch, 1:03.42 to 1:03.46.
For his women’s team, Hart was aware of speculation around the league of an “off” year and that the AE crown was a longshot.
“Going in, BU was favored,” the coach said. “We lost Aquila Williams-Judge, we lost a lot of people to injury, a lot of our top athletes. People were saying there was no way we’d win this.”
Contrary to this popular belief, the Huskies were prepared. Not only was NU physically focused, they moved ahead with 173.5 points, a full 39.5 ahead of the Terriers.
Senior Ahndraea Allen dominated the meet, claiming not only the Most Outstanding Track Performer Award but also the coaches award with the most points.
The sprinter led a sweep in the 55-dash, a one-two finish in the 200, while also winning the 400. Allen also anchored the 4×400 relay (3:48.46). For the second straight year, Allen won the single-performance events and the meet’s top performer trophy.
Allen (7.08), Jordine Kimbrel (7.15) and Shanae Henry (7.19) formed a 1-2-3 in the 55, while Allen (24.45) and Kimbrel (24.82) were at the top of the pack in the 200.
Allen was relentless, winning the third consecutive event of the meet in the 400 at 55.23, a full two seconds ahead of University of Maryland-Baltimore County’s Jannelle Wilson (57.32).
Freshman hurdler/jumper Tramaine Shaw gave Hart another first-time championship performer to praise in winning the 55 hurdles at (8.09), running on the winning 4×400 team, and setting the America East record in the pentathlon (3,607). That total was just 80 away from national qualification in just the second time the rookie performed in the event.
Suffice to say, Shaw had plenty to be proud of when she approached her coach following the meet.
“She said to me ‘I’m no longer a freshman, I’m an athlete now,'” Hart said of the Outstanding Rookie and Field Performer winner.
Also continuing the Husky run were Laura Chimielewski with her second straight win in the pole vault (11’3.75) and freshman Meredith O’Connor, who won the shot put at 43’10.5.
The distance medley team also was impressive in setting a new Husky record of 11:55.68, good for third overall.
Hart and his staff were awarded with the Coaching Staff of the Year Award for both the men and women. After two weeks of preparation for the meets, Hart could finally see both of his teams in top position.
“My staff has just done an excellent job putting everything together the last two weeks,” he said. “We had two weeks to dedicate ourselves to winning this championship. We really just found the right button to push with all of our athletes.”
And to think that Hart had any doubts on his way to BU last Friday.
