Posted: May 27, 2019
As the 2018-2019 St. Thomas Aquinas College Track & Field season came to a close this past weekend, the Spartans have many athletic and academic successes to celebrate during both the indoor and outdoor season. The STAC contingent traveled across the country this season, visiting places like Massachusetts, New York, Kansas, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Jersey in order to take on the best athletes from Divisions I, II and III. Here are some of the highlights from those meets and invitationals:
Indoor Season
-Saint-Jacob Diodonet went to his fourth and final Division II Indoor National Championships, ending his career with All-Region Honors. Didonet was named the ECC Indoor Runner of the Year for the fourth consecutive year (Only the second person in conference history to accomplish that feat). Saint wraps up his tenure in Sparkill as a 3-time Indoor Track & Field All-American, and ended his career with All-Academic honors this season.
-4 Spartans received USTFCCCA Indoor All-Region honors. Sophomore, Christina Maretzo got her first nod at this honor by running 5:09 in the Mile and being in the top 5 of the region with that time. Rickssen Opont got his 4th All-Region recognition for the Shot Put during the season. Dante Brown took home his All-Region selections in the Long Jump, 60 Meters and 200 Meters. Saint-Jacob Diodonet was All-Region in the 200 and 400 Meters for his fourth straight year as well.
-24 Spartans received ECC All-Conference recognition during the Indoor Track & Field season. See the honors, here.
-The Men's team finished second and the women's team fifth at the ECC Indoor Track & Field Championships, held in Staten Island, NY
Outdoor Season
-The Spartans had 3 individuals qualify for the Division II Outdoor National Championships. Saint-Jacob Diodonet finished his career with a personal best run of 46.96 in the 400 and placed 14th overall in the country for Division II. Dante Brown jumped 7.45m (24-5.5) and finished 15th in the nation. Rickssen Opont threw a new personal best of 17.67m (57-11.5), good for 20th in all of D2.
-6 Spartans received USTFCCCA All-Region awards for the outdoor season. Saint-Jacob Didonet was named All-Region in the 100 Meters, 200 Meters, 400 Meters and 4x100 Meter Relay. Rickssen Opont was chosed to the All-Region team in the Shot Put. Dante Brown was selected All-Region in the Long Jump and 4x100 Meter Relay. Jarret Millien and Jaren Scott each took home All-Region accolades for the 4x100 Meter Relay team that ran 41.53 this year. Freshman Duenya recieved All-Region honors for her work in the Triple Jump.
-For the first time in program history, Rickssen Opont (Shot Put) and the Men's 4x100 Relay team (Saint-Jacob Didonet, Dante Brown, Jaren Scott and Jarrett Millien) earned their way to the final day of competition at Penn Relays in Philadelphia, PA. The women's squad also took center stage at the relays as well. This was the first year the Spartans competed in the Shuttle Hurdle Relays, where Molly Conner, Duenya Alan, Desiree Bermudez and Ruby Pekin-Schlicht hit a new school record time of 1:06.79. STAC also competed in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays, and were scheduled to participate in the SMR, but because of thunderstorms they were not able to compete in that event.
-47 represents the number of STAC Track & Field athletes that were named ECC All-Conference selections for the Outdoor Track & Field season. See the honors, here.
-The men's squad won its third consecutive ECC Outdoor Track & Field Championship, besting opposing conference teams in 12 of the 21 events hosted in Farmingdale, NY. The women's team finished fourth at the meet. Saint-Jacob Diodonet was named most outstanding athlete of the meet by the East Coast Conference.
Academics
-The Spartan Women's Track & Field team had an overall team GPA for of 3.39 on the year. The squad will be named an USTFCCA All-Academic Team, which will be announced in June. Frankie Schiavone was named an ECC Winter Scholar Athlete of the Year. Saint-Jacob Diodonet will qualify as an Academic All-American with his participation in both the NCAA Division II Indoor and Outdoor National Championships, along with his GPA, which will eclipse the required mark of 3.25 or higher.
"This was another great year for St. Thomas Aquinas College Track & Field," said Head Coach Lorne Marcus. "The National Championship opportunities, awards and honors that our athletes received this season are well earned, as their hard-work and dedication to the program has certainly shown in both practices and competition. I look forward to another great year in 2019-2020, as both our very talented returners and new recruits attempt to set the bar even higher for STAC."