At a glance
Najia McGee (Rochester/Edison) highlighted day three of the NJCAA Division III National Championships with two individual titles and one relay title as the Alfred State College women's track & field team finished 5th out of 17 teams. Hector Cuero (Middletown), Andrew Omoregie (Gates Chili), and Zak Williamson (Rocky Point) ran to 2nd places finishes as the men's team finished 6th out of 22 teams.
Najia McGee (Rochester/Edison) highlighted day three of the NJCAA Division III National Championships with two individual titles and one relay title as the Alfred State College women's track & field team finished 5th out of 17 teams. Hector Cuero (Middletown), Andrew Omoregie (Gates Chili), and Zak Williamson (Rocky Point) ran to 2nd places finishes as the men's team finished 6th out of 22 teams.
McGee won the National Championship in the 100 m in 12.77 and the 200 m in 26.23. She also was a member of the winning 4 x 100 relay that ran a 50.65. Reaghan Bulkley (Avoca) ran the first leg, Caitlyn Peterson (Wayne) ran leg two, Callie Ayers (Letchworth) ran leg three, and McGee distanced the Lady Pioneers from the competition in the final leg. McGee finishes the season as a three-time NJCAA 1st team All-American while Bulkley is a two-time All-American.
Heather Sears (Letchworth) finished 3rd in the pole vault (2.27 m), Ayers finished 3rd in the 800 (2:28.77), and Nikki D'Andrea (Rush Henrietta) was 5th in the pole vault (2.12 m). The 4 x 400 relay team of Ayers, Peterson, D'Andrea, and Jen Chan (Genesee Valley) finished 5th in 4:35.81.
Cuero earned 2nd place in the 800 m with a run of 1:57.29 edging out the 3rd place runner by .02. Omoregie finished 2nd in the 110 m hurdles with a strong performance of 14.90. Williamson continued a busy weekend of competition with a 2nd place finish in the 3,000 steeplechase (9:54.84) and a 7th place finish in the 1,500 (4:19.13). With 2nd places finishes, Cuero, Omoregie, and Williamson all earned 2nd team All-American honors. Omoregie on Friday earned 1st team honors in the high jump while Williamson was 2nd team in the 5000.
Cedric Crowder (Gates Chili) was 5th in the 110 hurdles (15.62) while the 4 x 100 relay team of Dan Morriarty (Webster), Geoff Kobuszewski (Solvay), Justin Kopta (Clymer), and Dan Fabiny (Wellsville) finished 6th with a run of 43.79. In field events, Keenan Hall (Monticello) finished 7th in the discus (38.31 m) and 8th in the shot put (12.18 m).
Herkimer CCC won the women's team title with 135 points followed by SUNY Cobleskill's 86 points. Mohawk Valley CC was 3rd with 79 points, Gloucester (NJ) County College was 4th (74), and ASC finished 5th with 70 points. ASC had been ranked #9 in the country heading into the National Championships.
Harper (IL) College won the men's title with 143 points while the College of DuPage (IL) and SUNY Cobleskill tied for 2nd with 116 points. SUNY Delhi was 4th with 86 points, Bergen (NJ) CC was 5th with 77, and ASC was 6th with 75 points.
325 athletes representing 22 different colleges competed in the three-day event held at SUNY Delhi. The 2009 NJCAA Division III National Championships will be held at the new track and field surface on the campus of Alfred State College.