Regan, Pitman, Visca, Ithaca Staff Take Outdoor Track Awards
Empire 8 Athletic Conference has announced the Track Athlete, Field Athlete, Rookie and Coach of the Year awards for the 2016 women’s outdoor track and field season. The conference coaches vote on the awards.
Stevens Institute of Technology senior
Amy Regan and Ithaca College junior
Katherine Pitman have been named the Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Year, respectively.
Regan won the NCAA Division III national titles in both the 5000 (16:27) and the 10000 (35:43). During the season, she broke the Stevens school records in 1500, 5000 and 10000. The Green Brook, N.J. native was also the Empire 8 champion in the 5000 and set a conference record in 17:44. Following her conference title, Regan was the ECAC champion in the 1500, running 4:30 for an 11-second PR and No. 10 ranking in DIII. She ended the outdoor campaign undefeated against DIII competition, winning all but one race where she finished 2nd at Penn Relays to a runner from Providence College.
Pitman was also a national champion this spring, capturing the DIII pole vault title with a jump of 4.21 meters (13 feet, 9.74 inches) to surpass the national meet record by one half inch. The vault was also a new Ithaca College record. She entered the meet with the top mark in the country at 4.18 meters. She was the ECAC Division III champion and finished second in the IC4A/ECAC meet as the only Division III competitor. The Swampscott, Mass., was also the NYSCTC and Empire 8 champion. She finished third at Penn Relays Championship after being edged by two Division I athletes.
Stevens freshman
Mary Visca was the conference Rookie of the Year after a second place finish in the 1500 meters at the Empire 8 Championship with a time of 4:44. The Rochester, N.Y., native was sixth at ECAC's in the 5000 in 17:47. She ran 17:16 at the Penn Relays to finish the outdoor season ranked No. 31 in Division III.
The
Ithaca College staff, led by Head Coach Jennifer Potter, earned the Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Coaching Staff of the Year. Ithaca claimed its ninth consecutive Empire 8 Outdoor Track & Field Championship and 12
th overall. Eleven Bombers were named first-team all-conference, while eight athletes earned second-team all-conference honors. The Bombers claimed their eighth NYSCTC crown in May. Six Ithaca athletes earned USTFCCCA All-Atlantic Region honors, while two athletes won NCAA Division III national titles.
Sportswoman of the Year
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2016 Sportswoman of the Year Team. Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.
Student-Athlete Institution
Jamie DiSalvo Nazareth
Sarah Werner Ithaca
Rebekah White Houghton
Brynn Hyde Alfred
Kasey Suszko Stevens
Jessica Colmerauer St. John Fisher
Mikey Maxwell Utica