Track & Field at the MIT Final Qualifier
Thursday, May 16 | 4 p.m.
Sherie and Don (1961) Morrison Track | Cambridge, Mass.

WHAT TO KNOW
• Nine members of the Babson men's and women's track & field teams will compete at the MIT Final Qualifier on Thursday afternoon in Cambridge.
• Thursday marks the final day to post a qualifying mark for the NCAA Division III national championships prior to the announcement of the official selections for this year's meet on Friday.

WHO'S COMPETING
• Seniors Michael Agard (100m) and Demarre Johnson (100m, 200m), junior Julian Ivarra (1500m), and first-years Chris McDonough (100m), Kainoa Ronquilio (100m) and Stratton Seymour (400m hurdles) will compete in track events for the Beavers, while Agard (long jump) and fellow senior Eric Bottern (shot put, discus, hammer throw) and sophomore Joseph Addotta (discus) will be in men's field events for the Green and White.
• Agard, Ronquilio, Johnson and McDonough will also line up for the Beaver men in the 4x100m relay.
• First-year Colleen Corman will represent the Babson women when she competes in the 400-meter hurdles.

HEADING TO NATIONALS
• Bottern, who competed in the NCAA Division III championships in 2023, will make a return visit to the NCAA's this spring. His mark of 56-feet, 4.5-inches at the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) championships on April 26 currently ranks eighth among Division III throwers this spring.
• Senior Anthony Rodriguez is among the Division III leaders, ranking 16th this spring in the 10,000 meters with a time of 29:43. 61 at the MIT Sean Collier Invitational on April 19. Rodriguez is also 33rd in the 5000 meters with a time of 14:18.05 at the Farley Inter Regional Extravaganza last weekend at Williams College.
• McDonough will be looking for an NCAA qualification as he currently ranks 27th in the 100-meter dash based on his time of 10.54 seconds at the North Carolina State University Raleigh Relays on  March 28.

NEWMAC HONORS
• Babson received five major awards when the NEWMAC announced its post-season awards last week based on voting by the league's six head coaches.
• Rodriguez was named the NEWMAC Men's Track Athlete of the Year for the second straight year, Bottern was voted Men's Co-Field Athlete of the Year, McDonough was selected as Men's Rookie of the Year, and head coach Russ Brennen and his assistants Brent Sitarski, Amber Spencer, Chris Ramsey and Bob Fiedler were tabbed as Men's Coaching Staff of the Year.
• Corman represented the Babson women when she was named the NEWMAC Women's Track & Field Rookie of the Year.

BEAVER BITES
• Bottern repeated as the New England shot put champion and McDonough finished runner-up in the 100-meter dash to lead the Babson men to an 11th place finish at the Division III New England Championships at Mount Holyoke's Turf and Track on April 29-30.
• Babson also earned All-New England honors in the 4x100 meter relay as Agard, Ronquilio, Johnson, and McDonough finished third in a time of 41.65 seconds.
• Ivarra brought home fourth place in the 5,000 meters, finishing in a personal-best time of 14:59.36. Ronquilio turned in a ninth-place performance in the 400 meters in a season-best time of 49.58 seconds.
• Jankowski and sophomore Trista Sicard posted the top finishes for the Babson women's squad. Jankowski placed 10th in the 100-meter hurdles in a time of 15.69 seconds and Sicard finished 10th in the triple jump with a mark of 35-feet, 4.75-inches.
• The Beaver programs also combined for four individual champions at the NEWMACchampionships on April 26-27, Rodriguez in the men's 10,000 meters, Bottern in the men's shot put, McDonough in the men's 100-meter dash, and Corman in the women's 400-meter hurdles.

RECORD SETTING SPRING
• The Beavers have set 10 new school records this spring:
• Women (2): Robyn Wilkes – 200 meters (25.76); Sicard – triple jump (36-feet, 7.75-inches).
• Men (8): McDonough – 100 meters (10.54) and 200 meters (21.80); Rodriguez -- 5000 meters (14:18.05); Seymour – 400 meter hurdles (57.45); Agard, Ronquilio, Johnson, McDonough – 4x100 meter relay (41.52); Agard – Long Jump (22-feet, 9.75-inches); Bottern – Hammer throw (162-feet, 9-inches); Nicolas Kube -- Javelin (178-feet, 4-inches).