Lisle, IL…The College of New Jersey men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams wrapped up competition at the 2006 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships after three days of competition on the campus of Benedictine University (Lisle, Illinois).
           For complete results on the web, please go to:
http://www.ben.edu/athletics/ncaataf/index.asp
          In the race for the NCAA Division III team championship, the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse won the men’s championship with 66.5 points, while the Lions picked up 16th place with 16 points. TCNJ’s women’s team finished in 13th place with 17 points, while the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh won the women’s title with 52 points.
Senior Jeff Zodda (Mercerville, NJ/Notre Dame) settled for a second place finish in the 800 meter run for the second straight year.. In the finals, Zodda posted a time of 1:49.91, just off the stadium record set by the champion, Nick Symmonds of Willamette University (1:49.59). Zodda’ performance in the finals, breaks his own school record which he set in the trials (1:50.69). Zodda, who won the 2006 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in the 800 meter run this year. 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 wraps his career as a six-time All-American in the 800 meters for the Lions.
Senior Brian Donovan (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) finished his stellar career on Saturday as well with his second All-America citation of the meet as he picked up a seventh place finish in the 5,000 meter run in 14:58.31. Widener University’s Macharia Yuot won his second championship crown of the meet as he set a stadium record in winning the 5,000 meter run in 14:48.96. On Thursday night, Yout won the 10,000 meter run, while Donovan took home second place in 30:28.58.
With Saturday’s finish, Donovan is now a three-time All-American after collecting his first career All-America citation with a sixth place at the 2006 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships in 14:44.45 in the 5,000 meter run. Donovan holds TCNJ’s school record in both the 5,000 (14:10.69) meter and 10,000 (30:00.99) meter runs. 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 was the fastest time in 2006 in the event in Division III entering the championships. He was also part of the Lions’ ninth place distance medley relay team at the 2006 NCAA Indoor Championships, which just missed All-America honors. The 2003 and 2004 NJAC Cross Country Runner of the Year, as well as the NJAC Indoor Track and Field Champion in the 3,000 meter run and on the 4 x 800 relay, Donovan is a TCNJ Scholar-Athlete, excelling in elementary education for the Lions.
In the finals of the women’s 4 x 100 relay, the Lions were unable to defend their crown from a year ago. TCNJ picked up a fourth place finish in 47.32. CCNY’s relay team won the event in 45.98, an NCAA record time and the fastest performance of the year in the event. On the relay for the Lions were senior Erika Huggler (Eatontown, NJ/Monmouth Regional), sophomore Jessica Bonelli (Sewell, NJ/Gloucester Catholic), senior Tiffany Clark (East Orange, NJ/East Orange), and senior Brittny Boyd (Hackettstown, NJ/Hackettstown).
In the 4 x 400 relay, the Lions were bested by Lincoln University and were not able to defend their NCAA title. Lincoln University recorded a stadium record and the fastest time in Division III on the year as they won the race in 3:45.05, while the Lions settled for fifth in 3:48.55. Competing for TCNJ were sophomore Carolyn Gray (Barnegat, NJ/Southern Regional), Boyd, junior Angela Tecco (Wildwood Crest, NJ/Lower Cape May), and Bonelli.
           In the 400 meter run, the Lions had two runners collect All-America honors as Bonelli placed in fifth place in 55.91 and senior Boyd finished in seventh place in 56.24. Illinois Wesleyan University’s Rachel Anderson captured the title with her time of 54.93, an NCAA Division III record and the fastest time in the event in Division III this year.
           Freshman Stephanie Herrick (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) finished in seventh place in the 800 meter run after posting 2:13.95 in the finals to reap All-American honors.
Now a 19-time All-American as a member of the Lions’ indoor and outdoor track and field, Boyd was also an All-American soccer player during her career as well. The most decorated female student-athlete in TCNJ’s athletic history, Boyd wrapped her amazing career on Saturday by picking up three All-America citations in track and field at the 2006 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
           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 soccer 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.
           An accomplished student-athlete, Boyd was also a candidate for the 2006 Arthur Ashe Scholar Athlete Award during her senior year. 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). 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. After the 2006 NCAA’s, Boyd is now a 19-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 Indoor Championships in 3:51.30.
           Clark also wrapped up another stellar athletic career in style as well as she too closed her collegiate career on Saturday. The 2005 NCAA Division III Outdoor Champion in the 400 meters, Clark’s 2006 season has been hampered by an injury. She qualified for the Lions in the 4 x 400 relay. Clark is a 14-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.
Huggler has also excelled for TCNJ on the track during her time with the Lions and now has earned her first All-America citation after helping the Lions to a fourth place finish in the 4 x 100 relay on Saturday.
