Six Roadrunners Headed to NCAA Championships

Photo courtesy of Ramapo Athletics

Six members of the men and women’s track and field teams will be heading to the NCAA Championships in Winston-Salem, N.C. to represent Ramapo College on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Junior Emily Shipley is the only member of the women’s track and field team heading to the Championships. She will be participating in the pole vault and comes into the NCAA Championships as the No. 16 seed with a mark of 3.70 meters, which she set at the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championships on Feb. 26.

Freshman Jeremy Hernandez, who set the Ramapo record for the fastest mile run at 4:09.22 earlier this season, will represent the Roadrunners in the men’s 800-meter run. He has earned the No. 3 seed in the event with a time of 1:52.42 and won the event at the NJAC Championships with a time of 1:52.14.

Junior Phillip Dowell will represent Ramapo in the triple jump and comes into the event as the No. 6 seed with a 14.74 mark. He recently placed third at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships on March 6 and 7 with a mark of 14.44 meters.

The distance medley team of junior Paul Juelis, sophomore Kevin Diana, senior Peter Tuohy and Hernandez comes in with the No. 9 seed in the event with a 10:00.18 time posted at the Tufts Last Chance Meet on March 6. The time earned a first place finish at the event, while setting the new school record.

Other than the athletes representing Ramapo at the NCAAs, several Roadrunners received NJAC All-Conference honors. The selections for NJAC awards were selected through a vote of the Conference’s head coaches across the Conference’s 10 member schools, while All-Conference honors were determined by results at the NJAC Championships.

Junior Emily Brock earned first team honors for her first place finish in the 5,000-meter run at 18:37.2 at the NJAC Championships.

The 4×200 meter relay team of sophomores Na’Shimah Allen, Mariah Blanton and Kim Guillaume and senior Jasmine Hammonds earned second team honors for their second place 1:44.80 finish at the NJACs.

Allen received second team honors for a personal best 58.88 time in the 400-meter dash.

Freshman Paris Hughes also earned a second team honors with a second place 5:06.34 mile run. Junior Stephanie Encarnacion cleared 1.60 meters in the high jump and Shipley cleared 3.50 meters in the pole vault at the NJACs to earn second team honors.

The 4×800 meter relay team of juniors Brianna Springsteadah and Alicia Green and seniors Rachel Herrick and Cristina Cristea and the distance medley team of junior Graciela Morilla and freshmen Jenny Wankmuller, Becky Scairpon and Melissa Guida each earned honorable mentions.

For the men’s team, Hernandez earned first team honors in the 800-meter run and in the mile run, and was named the NJAC G. Larry James Men’s Indoor Track and Field Most Outstanding Athlete for the 2014-15 season.

Diana, Juelis, Dowell and sophomore Michael Bergen also earned first team honors and Bergen was named as the NJAC Men’s Outstanding Field Athlete of the Year after winning the shot put competition at the NJACs with a mark of 14.58 meters. He also earned second team honors in the weight throw event.

mmontal1@ramapo.edu