Photo courtesy of Ramapo Athletics
Ramapo’s track and field team has been earning awards left and right for their outstanding performances.
Jeremy Hernandez and Michael Begen were named to the 2016-2017 NJAC Men’s Indoor Track & Field All-Conference Team after competing at the NJAC Championships in February.
Hernandez won the mile and 800-meter races and also earned the G. Larry James Men’s Indoor Track & Field Most Outstanding Athlete for the second time. Begen won the award after winning the weight throw. He also earned Second Team honors for the shot put.
Teammate Christopher Dugan earned the NJAC Honorable Mention All-Conference for his mile, while Calvin Hartman was named to the NJAC Second Team All-Conference for finishing second in the pole vault.
At the 2017 ECAC Championships hosted by Ithaca College, Ramapo collectively earned 12 points and placed 21st overall. Begen placed fourteenth in the shot put, Dugan placed third in the mile and Hartman placed third in the pole vault. Hernandez qualified for the 2017 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships on March 10 and 11 with his mile run. He is seeded 11th out of 15 runners. Teammate Amber Edwards, who won the triple jump at both the NJAC and ECAC Championships, will also compete. She is seeded sixth out of 17.
To top it off, Hernandez, Begen, Edwards, and junior Jessica Cusick all earned U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Region, which requires that the athlete be ranked top-five in an individual event or on a top-three relay team.
Begen earned the All-Region honor for the shot put, in which he is ranked third in the Atlantic Region. Hernandez earned the honor in the 800-meter and mile, which he is ranked first and third in the Atlantic Region, respectively. Edwards earned All-Region honors for her triple jump and is ranked second in the Atlantic Region. Jessica Cusick earned All-Region in the high jump and is also ranked second in the Atlantic Region.
Hernandez and Edwards return to action on March 10 and 11 for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships hosted by North Central College in Naperville, Illinois.
khueston@ramapo.edu
