NEC Indoor Track & Field Coaches Polls Announced
The NEC announced the men's and women's indoor track and field preseason coaches polls on Friday. On the men's side, CCSU was tabbed as the preseason favorites
COMPLETE NEC WOMEN'S RELEASE
The Central Connecticut men earned eight first-place votes to earn preseason favorite status as the Blue Devils look to repeat as champs for the first time in program history. The Blue Devils topped the poll, while Wagner got one first-place poll and was tipped second, followed by Stonehill and Chicago State. FDU and LIU tied for fifth in the poll, with the Sharks claiming the final first-place vote.
Coming off a "Triple Crown" season, CCSU has already secured the first leg with its cross country title in October and now turns its attention to indoor track as it chases another sweep. CCSU stockpiled the points last year as it tallied a meet record 179 on its way to the third conference crown in program history and first since 2018. Led by veteran head coach Eric Blake, the Blue Devils return a roster that is poised for another strong season. Returning to defend their individual titles are Lucas Figueiredo in the 400m dash along with Kymoy Phillip in the 500m run. The Blue Devils also bring back Most Outstanding Field Performer (Throws) and Most Outstanding Rookie Greyson Golda, who placed second in both the shot put and the weight throw. Figueiredo and Phillip will be joined by Jayden Brown to defend their 4x400m Relay gold medal while Aidan Budge and Max Czarnecki both return from last winter's Distance Medley Relay championship squad.
The CCSU women's team collected a pair of first-place votes and was tabbed third in the preseason poll. Wagner was picked as the preseason favorite and collected five first place votes, followed by Stonehill who earned two first-place votes. Chicago State received the final first-place vote and was fourth, followed by Saint Francis U. to round out the top-five.
The Blue Devils will be looking to improve on their standing at last season's championships when they placed fifth as a team. Juliana Cancellieri, who helped the women's cross country team win its second straight championship, will look to defend her crown in the 5,000 meter run. Maya Marin, who was named the Most Outstanding Rookie at the NEC Championships as a freshman will be primed for the indoor season.
The NEC Championships will be contested February 15 & 16 at Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island, NY, where the meet has been hosted since 2016. This marks the 10th consecutive year the championship meet will take place at the state-of-the-art facility.