Women's Indoor Track and Field | 3/19/2020 12:58:32 PM
Utica College first-year sprinter Eshone Cofield-Jackson was named both the Track Athlete of the Year and Rookie of the Year, as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2019-20 Women’s Indoor Track and Field All-Conference awards on Thursday, March 19. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors.
Cofield-Jackson was named the Empire 8 Championship Indoor Track Athlete of the Meet on Feb. 29 after winning the 60-meter (7.97 seconds) and 200-meter dash (25.55 seconds) events, in addition to leading the Pioneers to a speedy time of 4:06.42 in the 4 x 400-meter relay. Cofield-Jackson was also runner-up in the 400-meter dash (1:00.44), as Utica placed second as a team at the league championship. She was a two-time Empire 8 Track Athlete of the Week.
Cofield-Jackson earned USTFCCCA All-Atlantic Region honors in both the 60- and 200-meter dash events. She had the fifth fastest time regionally in the 60-meters (7.82 seconds) and fourth best mark in the 200-meters with a time of 25.35 seconds. She advanced to nationals in the 200-meters with the 12th best time in all of Division III, set in a winning effort at the All-Atlantic Region Indoor Track & Field Championships from Nazareth College.
Fellow first-year standout Kelsey Wands of Utica was named the 2019-20 Empire 8 Field Athlete of the Year. Wands recorded the fifth best long jump in the region and 19th best mark in the country at 5.59 meters, set in a winning effort at the 2020 Empire 8 Indoor Track and Field Championships on Feb. 29. She also placed fourth in the long jump at the All-Atlantic Region Indoor Championship at Nazareth. She earned Empire 8 Field Athlete of the Week honors on Jan. 27. Wands also qualified for the 2020 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships and earned All-Atlantic Region honors in the event.
St. John Fisher head coach Mike Henchen and his staff were named the 2020 Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year. The Cardinals won their first indoor Empire 8 Championship in program history and had 10 different student-athletes earn All-Conference honors.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2019-20 Women's Indoor Track & Field Sportswoman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference 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.
To be named an E8 All-Conference selection, a student athlete must have finished in the top two of an event at the Conference's Championship Meet. Winners of the event are named to the First Team, while the Second Team is comprised of the runner-up from each event.
2019-20 Empire 8 Women’s Indoor Track & Field Award Winners
Track Athlete of the Year: Eshone Cofield-Jackson, Fr., Utica
Field Athlete of the Year: Kelsey Wands, Fr., Utica
Rookie of the Year: Eshone Cofield-Jackson, Fr., Utica
Coaching Staff of the Year: St. John Fisher, led by head coach Mike Henchen
Empire 8 Sportswoman of the Year
Madison Palmer, So., Alfred
Hayley Hill, Sr., Hartwick
Edena Sanchez, Jr., Houghton
Erin Reyner, So., Nazareth
Maria Covelli., Fr., St. John Fisher
Lynette Okoth, Sr., Utica
2019-20 Empire 8 Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championship All-Conference Selections
60-Meter Dash
First Team: Eshone-Cofield Jackson, Fr., Utica – :7.97 (:7.90 in prelims)
Second Team: Tayler Dence, Sr., St. John Fisher - :8.02
60-Meter Hurdles
First Team: Tayler Dence, Sr., St. John Fisher – :9.37
Second Team: McKenna Cone, Fr., St. John Fisher – :9.61
200-Meter Dash
First Team: Eshone-Cofield Jackson, Fr., Utica – :25.55
Second Team: Brenna Johnson, So., Nazareth – :26.48
400-Meter Dash
First Team: Brenna Johnson, So., Nazareth – :59.70
Second Team: Eshone-Cofield Jackson, Fr., Utica – 1:00.44
800-Meter Run
First Team: Edena Sanchez, Jr., Houghton – 2:25.13
Second Team: Olivia Pawlewicz, So., St. John Fisher – 2:26.57
Mile
First Team: Gabriella Dunkelberg, St. John Fisher – 5:28.16
Second Team: Emily Blosdale, So. Houghton – 5:31.68
3,000-Meter Run
First Team: Riley Corey, Fr., St. John Fisher – 10:43.51
Second Team: Shelby Langlois, Sr., Houghton – 10:51.59
5,000-Meter Run
First Team: Riley Corey, Fr., St. John Fisher – 18:34.21
Second Team: Kaitlyn Stinson, Sr., Utica – 18:45.81
4 x 400-Meter Relay
First Team: Eshone Cofield-Jackson, Fr., Laura Levi, So., Julianne Emerson, Jr., Laura Meade, So., Utica – 4:06.42
Second Team: Tayler Dence, Sr., Kiersten Abbott, So., Breanna Lambert, So., Amberlyn Robertson, Fr., St. John Fisher – 4:06.83
Distance Medley Relay
First Team: Madelyn Kruth, Jr., Alexandra Wisniewski, Fr., Gwen Stokes, Sr., Leah O’Connell, Fr., Houghton – 13:16.53
Second Team: McKayla Crawford, Sr., Breanna Lambert, So., Olivia Pawlewicz, So., Gabriella Dunkelberg, Sr., St. John Fisher – 13:23.20
Pole Vault
First Team: Meghan Romaguera, Jr., Utica – 3.10 meters
Second Team: Caroline Castriotta, So., Utica – 3.00 meters
High Jump
First Team: Gwen Stokes, Sr., Houghton – 1.56 meters
Second Team: Karina Morling, Fr., Alfred – 1.53 meters
Long Jump
First Team: Kelsey Wands, Fr., Utica – 5.59 meters
Second Team: McKenna Cone, Fr., St. John Fisher – 5.15 meters
Triple Jump
First Team: Laura Meade, So., Utica – 11.14 meters
Second Team: Krissy Roberts, Jr., Alfred
Shot Put
First Team: Jordan Lehman, Jr., St. John Fisher – 11.95 meters
Second Team: Madison Palmer, So., Alfred – 11.78 meters
Weight Throw
First Team: Katrina Cornick, So., Utica – 15.33 meters
Second Team: Madison Palmer, So., Alfred – 14.85 meters
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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