Ewing, NJ…The College of New Jersey men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams have qualified several competitors for the 2006 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The event will run from May 25-27 on the campus of Benedictine University (Lisle, Illinois).
To follow the event on the web, please go to:
http://www.ben.edu/athletics/ncaataf/index.asp
TCNJ’s women’s team will be sending seven student-athletes to compete, while three Lion men’s competitors have qualified. A year ago, TCNJ’s women’s team finished in fourth place with 41 points, just two points behind the 2005 NCAA team champion, Wartburg College (IA), while the men took home 28th place behind the men’s team champion, Lincoln University (PA).
Women’s Competitors
•Now a 16-time All-American as a member of the Lions’ indoor and outdoor track and field, senior Brittny Boyd (Hackettstown, NJ/Hackettstown) is also an All-American soccer player for the Lions. The most decorated female student-athlete in TCNJ’s athletic history, Boyd is looking for her possible 20th All-America citation in track and field as she is scheduled to compete in four events at the 2006 NCAA’s.
She was the co-captain of the 2005 NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer National Runner-up Team, which went 22-1. The 2005 Lions boasted a potent offense and a tough defense as they outscored the opposition during the fall 80-4 and shutout 20 of their 23 opponents. As a senior, she earned 2005 NSCAA/adidas Mid-Atlantic Regional All-America First Team. 2005 NJAC All-Star First Team in women’s soccer. Boyd was the 2005 team’s second leading scorer with 33 points on 15 goals and three assists in 2005. Boyd finishes her stellar career as the program’s third all-time scorer with 106 points on 45 goals and 16 assists. She was also a 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America All-District Second Team honoree. During her career, TCNJ earned NCAA tournament bids each season and twice appeared in the national semifinals in 2003 and 2005 and she helped the team post a record of 75-10-5 during her career and played in 86 games during that same time frame.
She wrapped the 2004-2005 academic year with a selection as the NJAC’s Female Athlete of the Year. Boyd is now a 20-time All-NJAC conference selection, a 17-time NCAA All-American and a five-time NCAA National Champion in indoor & outdoor track & field. She also is a four-time all-conference selection in women’s soccer. In 2005, she was named the Most Outstanding Athlete at the NJAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships after winning the 100 meter dash (12.26), the 200 meters (25.52) and the long jump (5.46 meters). At the 2004-05 NJAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, she captured the NJAC crown in the 200 meters (25.67) and was a member of the Lion champion 4x200 meter relay team (1:46.40). During the 2004 women’s soccer season, Boyd led TCNJ in both goals (14) and points (34) and ranked fourth in the NJAC in both categories. The 2002 NJAC women’s soccer Rookie of the Year, she earned third-team All-American honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America following the 2004 season.
She holds TCNJ indoor track records in the 55m, 60 m, 200m, 400 m and the long jump, and is part of the record holding 4 x 200 and 4 x 400 relay teams. In outdoor track and field, she holds TCNJ’s record in the 100m and is part of the record holding 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 relays.
At the 2006 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships, she picked up third place in the 400 meter run and broke TCNJ’s school record in the process after she recorded a time of 56.68 in the finals. In the trials, she set the Tostrud Center record, only to have it broken in the finals by Rachel Anderson of Illinois Wesleyan as she won the race in 56.35. Boyd is now an 18-time All-American in track and field at TCNJ after also running on the Lions’ second place 4 x 400 relay at the 2006 NCAA’s in 3:51.30.
Boyd has qualified in the 100 and 400 meter runs in her final weekend as a Lion student-athlete. She will also compete for the Lions in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays. The 2006 Arthur Ashe Award candidate and 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Second Team All-District performer, Boyd has excelled in the classroom and in the athletic arena during her stellar career.
•Senior Tiffany Clark (East Orange, NJ/East Orange) looks to also close her stellar athletic career in style as well. The defending NCAA Division III Outdoor Champion in the 400 meters, Clark’s 2006 season has been hampered by an injury. She has qualified for the Lions in the 4 x 400 relay. Clark is a 13-time All-American for the Lions between her time with the Lions in both indoor and outdoor track and field. The 2003 NCAA Division III runner-up in the 400 meters as a rookie, she would repeat as the runner-up in 2004, before winning the crown in 2005 at the outdoor NCAA championships. She has also helped the Lions win NCAA titles in the 4 x 400 and 4 x 100 relay five times during her career, while also picking up second place finishes in the relays twice and a third place showing as well.
• Senior Erika Huggler (Eatontown, NJ/Monmouth Regional) earned a spot for the Lions in the relay and will look to earn her first All-America citation as a member of the Lions’ 4 x 100 relay, which posted a qualifying time of 47.73 and is seeded seventh entering the event.
• Sophomore Jessica Bonelli (Sewell, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) will compete for TCNJ in the 200 and 400 meter runs, as well as in the 4 x 100 and 40 x 400 relays. As a rookie in 2005, she helped TCNJ capture the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays, while helping the Lions take second in the 4 x 400 at the 2006 NCAA Indoor Championships. She is seeded 12th with a time of 24.82 in the 200 meters and sixth in the 400 meters with her qualifying time of 56.02. Earlier this month, Bonelli was named the 2006 NJAC Track Athlete of the Year at the championships after leading the Lions to the team crown.
• Junior Angela Tecco (Wildwood Crest, NJ/Lower Cape May) has qualified for the NCAA’s in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:12.92 and is seeded 15th entering the championships. A four-time All-American for the Lions and a member of three NCAA Champion relay teams, Tecco earned a seventh place finish in the 800 meters a year ago at the outdoor championships and finished in sixth at the 2006 NCAA Indoor Championships in the 800 meters.
• Freshman Stephanie Herrick (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) will join Tecco in the 800 meters after she qualified on her time of 2:12.46 and is seeded 11th entering the race. Herrick
• Sophomore Carolyn Gray (Barnegat, NJ/Southern Regional) will also compete for the Lions in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays. She is already a three-time NCAA champion as a member of the Lions’ foursome in those events and is coming off a runner-up finish in the 4 x 400 relay at the 2006 NCAA indoor championships, while the 2005 Lions posted a first place finish in both relays at the outdoor championships a year ago.
Men’s Competitors
• Senior Brian Donovan (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) who holds TCNJ’s school record in both the 5,000 meter and 10,000 meter runs will compete for the second straight year in both events. Donovan posted NCAA automatic qualifying times in both events this spring as he set school records over the course of his final season with the Lions. A 2006 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America candidate, Donovan posted a time of 14:10.69 in the 5,000 meter run this spring, which is the fastest time in 2006 in the event in Division entering the championships. He also has a time of 30:00.99, which he ran at the 2006 Penn Relays and is seeded fourth entering the event. Earlier this year, Donovan picked up his first career All-America citation after finishing in sixth place at the 2006 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships in 14:44.45. The 2003 and 2004 NJAC Cross Country Runner of the Year, Donovan is a TCNJ Scholar-Athlete, excelling in biology for the Lions.
• Senior Jeff Zodda (Mercerville, NJ/Notre Dame) looks to close his career with another NCAA title as the Lion won the 2006 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in the 800 meter runs. As a rookie, Zodda picked up a sixth place finish in the 800 meter run at the 2003 NCAA indoor championships and a pair of honors as a sophomore in 2004 taking home sixth at the outdoor championships in the 800 meters and an eighth place finish as a member of TCNJ’s indoor distance medley relay team.
The national runner-up a year ago in the 800 meters at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Championships and a third place finisher at the 2005 NCAA Indoor Championships in the 800 meters, Zodda is now a five-time All-American in the 800 meters for the Lions. He is seeded seventh in the event after posting a qualifying time of 1:51.49 in the race this year, also a school record time.
• Sophomore Brian Kopnicki (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) will be making an appearance in the 2006 championships in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. He is seeded 14th with a qualifying time of 9:17.22. At the 2006 NCAA Indoor Championships, he helped TCNJ to a ninth place finish in the distance medley relay after they posted a time of 10:14.15.