Thrower qualifies for NCAAs

The Huskies are winding down another track season, but star thrower Derek Anderson is not showing signs of fading.

The NCAA East Regionals took place May 26-27, with Anderson qualifying for both the shot put and discuss.

He is the fourth seed in the shot put, 12th in the discus, and has a legitimate chance to score points on a national level for the team. The national championships run over four days, from June 7-10. Anderson will compete in two events and will try to leave his mark in his final season.

Anderson was also recognized by the USA Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association as the Northeast District Athlete of the Year.

Sophomore Bamidele Faboyede and freshman Nate Hunter also competed in the regional meet. Hunter finished 18th in the shot put, while fouling out in the discus. Faboyede also had problems, fouling out in the hammer throw.

Senior pole vaulter Aaron Hill was named to the ESPN The Magazine’s Academic All-District team. Hill is now eligible to be named an Academic All-American, which will be announced later this month.

– Adam Riglian, News Staff

Huskies miss Grand Final

The men’s crew team took seventh place in the national-championship IRA Regatta on the Cooper River Saturday in Camden, N.J.

The men placed second in their preliminary race on Thursday, falling to Brown by about four seconds. Northeastern finished well ahead of the rest of the field consisting of Georgetown, Army and Colorado. The second-place finish put the Huskies in a semifinal race that would give them the chance to compete in the Grand Final.

On Friday, the men had to place in the top three of their semifinal race to make it into the Grand Final. Yale, California and Harvard took the top three spots of the race, with Northeastern finishing only 0.32 seconds behind Harvard. Both Syracuse and Pennsylvania finished behind the Huskies.

Senior captain Will Miller felt his team was put in a tough position.

“We had a really tough semi,” he said. “That is the closest we came to Harvard all year and we just got squeaked out of the Grand Final.”

By taking fourth, the best the men could do was win the petite final and take seventh place overall. They did exactly that by clocking in at 5:43.61, compared to runner-up Syracuse’s 5:45.41. Wisconsin, Cornell, Navy and Penn were the other competitors in the petite final.

“Of course it would have been nice to get into the Grand Final,” Miller said. “But it was nice to end on a good note, by winning a six-boat race pretty convincingly.”

– Guy D. Schoonmaker, News Staff

Crew team gets honors

This year’s women’s crew team consisted of several outstanding individuals, with five members receiving awards for their success.

Sophomore Katherine Glessner has been selected as a Pocock second team All-American. The Pocock All-American honors are awarded by the College Rowing Coaches Association and honor the best rowers and coxswains of the spring season. Forty-two student-athletes were selected this year, with 20 first team selections and 22 second team selections. Glessner, who rowed the 5 seat for the Huskies, was also named first-team All-New England earlier in the year. She received an invitation to be in the U.S. Under-23 National Team Selection Camp in California this summer.

Junior Irina Acsinte was also a large part of the Huskies’ 4-3 season, as she was named second team All-New England.

The CRCA National Scholar Athlete awards were handed out to junior Sophie Barkan, as well as sophomores Ashley Griffeth and Meredith Sparano. To receive the award, the athlete must have competed in 75 percent of her team’s races during the spring 2006 season while maintaining a cumulative 3.5 GPA or higher.

– Guy D. Schoonmaker, News Staff

Junior heads to Sacramento

Junior thrower Zara Northover qualified for the NCAA Championship Friday in Greensboro, N.C.

Northover finished with a distance of 51 feet, 9.25 inches to place fourth in the NCAA Regional Championship shot put. She will travel to Sacramento June 7-10 to compete in the NCAA Championship. This will be Northover’s second trip to the championship, as she took 12th place in 2004.

Other notable performers for the Huskies included freshman pole vaulter Olivia Kalinowska, who placed 11th with a career-best jump of 12 feet, 6 inches. Senior sprinter Jordine Kimbrel placed 21st in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.9 seconds and sophomore Tramaine Shaw took 34th in the long jump with a distance of 18 feet, two-and-a-half inches.

In other news, senior pole vaulter Laura Chmielewski was named to ESPN The Magazine’s Academic All District team. She is eligible for Academic All-America honors, which will be announced later this month.

Chmielewski currently holds all Northeastern University, America East and New England records in the pole vault. She won the pole vault at the America East Championship all four times she competed and the New England Championship all three times she competed.

Chmielewski, a native of Monmouth, N.J., graduated May 6 with a degree in graphic design.

– Nate Owen, News Staff