NEW YORK, NY — Led by five first place finishes, the Iona College women’s indoor track and field team finished fifth at the 2015 MAAC Championships at the New Balance Armory Track and Field Center in Manhattan. Senior Tara Jameson took home two individual titles while juniors Kate Avery and Rosie Clarke and the distance medley relay quartet accounted for the others.
Jameson was the individual champion in both the 3,000- and 5,000-meter events. She shattered an 11-year old MAAC Championship record in the 3k, completing the event in 9:38.73 while finishing a massive 31 seconds ahead of teammate Melissa Hawtin (10:09.53) who took silver. Freshman Daniele Martino earned points for the Gaels with her seventh place finish (10:25.27). Manhattan’s Therese Forsberg set the MAAC record time of 9:46.05 in 2004. Jameson was the lone performer in the event to run an ECAC qualifying time.
Jameson also dominated in the 5k event, winning by nearly 12 seconds. Her time of 16:51.53 topped Rider’s Nicolette Mateescu. Hawtin earned fourth place points in 17:14.35 while rookie Jessica Scheriff was seventh overall (18:08.39). Both Jameson and Hawtin ran ECAC qualifying times.
Clarke also set a MAAC championship and school record in the 800-meter event running a time of 2:08.40. Both previous best times were held by former Gael standout Heidi Gregson from the 2010 MAAC event where she ran a 2:10.70. Clarke defeated Monmouth’s Allie Wilson by more than three seconds. Teammate Marlene Delices took the bronze, finishing in 2:12.39.
Avery defended her 2014 MAAC title in the mile, running a 4:40.13 and winning the event by more than 19 seconds. Freshman Rachel Garn earned sixth place points with her time of 5:09.12.
The distance medley relay foursome of Scheriff, Delices, Clarke and freshman Danika Jensen shattered the MAAC record in the event with their time of 11:50.44. Delices, Maya Rehberg, Kirsten Stewart and Erica Fellin set the mark of 12:00.77 in the 2014 MAAC Championship. Monmouth was second, eight seconds behind the Gaels.
Iona’s final three points of the night came in a sixth place finish in the 4 x 400-meter relay.
Monmouth was the MAAC team champion with 166.5 points. Rider, Quinnipiac, Manhattan and Iona rounded out the top five.
2015 MAAC Championships
New York, NY – Armory Track & Field Center
Feb. 22, 2015
Iona Competitors:
60: Angel Pierre, 17th, 8.39; Marianna Sticca, 19th, 9.00; Alison Bohnenberger, 21st, 9.15; Danielle Hansen, 22nd, 9.72. 200: Angel Pierre, 21st, 27.40; Jeannette Ridgeway, 25th, 29.39; Marianna Sticca, 26th, 30.84; Danielle Hansen, 28th, 32.41. 400: Alexandra Naughton, 20th, 1:03.23; Jeannette Ridgeway, 24th, 1:08.71; Kerri Sexton, 25th, 1:16.08. 800: Rosie Clarke, 1st, 2:08.40; Marlene Delices, 3rd, 2:12.39; Rachel Garn, 10th, 2:17.15; Danika Jensen, 20th, 2:22.81. Mile: Kate Avery, 1st, 4:40.13; Rachel Garn, 6th, 5:09.12; Natalie Holder, 13th, 5:24.45; Zoe Wojtech, 14th, 5:28.75. 3k: Tara Jameson, 1st, 9:38.73; Melissa Hawtin, 2nd, 10:09.53; Daniele Martino, 7th, 10:25.27; Kaleigh Constantine, 19th, 11:19.47. 5k: Tara Jameson, 1st, 16:51.53; Melissa Hawtin, 4th, 17:14.35; Jessica Scheriff, 7th, 18:08.39. 4×400: Iona College (Naughton, Garn, Holder, Pierre), 6th, 4:13.76. DMR: Iona College (Scheriff, Jensen, Delices, Clarke), 1st, 11:50.44.
