By Jason Richland
The season is all over for Northeastern indoor track. The Northeastern women’s indoor track team finished 10th at the ECAC championships Saturday and Sunday at the Reggie Lewis Center and the men’s team finished 35th at the IC4A championship at Boston University.
Although most track athletes are finished for the season, junior vaulter Laura Chmielewski isn’t done yet. She finished fourth on the pole vault at 3.8 meters and will be advancing to the NCAA championships Friday at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.
For the season, both teams won the America East title and the women finished 18th at the New England Championship on Feb. 25-26 at Boston University and the men finished 13th at the championship.
“My expectation [for the women] was to try and win the conference and I wanted to steal the conference for the men,” said coach Sherman Hart. “We did all that and now we are looking ahead to the outdoor season.”
The outdoor season begins March 17 at the Hurricane Invitational in Miami, Fla.
“Both teams have been a pleasant surprise,” Hart said. “But it can only get better.”
Senior Ahndraea Allen was the lone winner at the ECAC for Northeastern in the 48-team field. Allen ran a 54.07 in the 400-meter dash, winning it for the third time in three years.
“It doesn’t get any better than that,” Hart said. “Winning the ECAC three years running is incredible.”
In the 4×400-meter relay, Allen and freshmen Charity Briggs, Tremaine Shaw and Alison Warren combined to finish fourth with a 3:43.88.
The relay team broke the school record without the top quarter-mile runner, junior Jordine Kimbrel.
Kimbrel had just finished sixth in the 200-meter dash (24.46) before the relay and was not ready to run again. She also finished seventh in the 60-meter dash (7.65).
“The biggest surprise of all was the freshmen,” Hart said. “For three freshmen to come in and break the school record is just unheard of.”
At the men’s IC4A event, sophomore Conrad Dalton took a fifth place finish in the 500-meter run (1:03.10) and junior Michael Couch snatched an eighth place finish in the pole vault (4.8m).
Northeastern competed without star sprinter senior Idris Payne. He hurt his ankle prior to the event.
“It really hurt us to lose [Payne],” Hart said, “but (senior) Peter Jasmin ran a great time and (sophomore) Chris Tirella had his personal best.”
Jasmin finished ninth in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.63 and Tirella ran a 49.69 in the 400-meter dash.
