Feb. 10, 2008

Feb. 10, 2008

Three was the magic number on Sunday for Sacred Heart and senior Arman Dixon (Beacon, NY/Beacon). Dixon captured his third Most Valuable Performer (MVP) award in helping the Pioneers dethrone three-time defending champion Monmouth at the 2008 Northeast Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Landover, MD. Sacred Heart totaled a meet-best 138 points to the Hawks' 124.5. A four-time team champion here earlier this decade, Saint Francis (PA) took third with 79 points.

Dixon dominated the post-meet awards ceremony by claiming both the NEC Track Performer and Field Performer of the Meet awards in addition to his MVP hardware. Long Island freshman Corryl Boyd (Waldorf, MD/Westlake), who was the NEC Rookie of the Week an unprecedented five times this season, gave the local crowd something to roar about by taking the NEC Rookie of the Meet accolade.

Yesterday's long jump victory and NCAA provisional qualifying mark were simply the start for Dixon. The three-time MVP (2005, 2007, 2008) claimed Sunday victories in both the 60-meter (6.79) and 400-meter (48.07) dashes while taking second in the 200-meter (22.21) and third in the triple jump.

Saint Francis (PA) senior James Bush broke up a Sacred Heart sweep of the 60-meter by finishing second (6.86), but the Pioneers still grabbed 21 points from the event. In addition to Dixon's second straight 60-meter win here, senior teammates Scott Giordano (Hamden, CT/Notre Dame HS) and Michael Barrett (Islip Terrace, NY/East Islip) claimed third and fourth, respectively. The event's top four finishers all produced IC4A times.

Despite Dixon's dominant display, the Pioneers would not have knocked off Monmouth without the help of Giordano. The senior sprinter triumphed in the 200-meter and captured bronze in the 400-meter race.

On the women's side, the Pioneers finished third overall in a nine team race. Sacred Heart sophomore high jumper Brittany Dexter (Ballston Lake, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston) repeated as champion tying a 12-year old meet record in the process by clearing 1.83m (5'8").

Sacred Heart freshman Angelica Johnson (Little Ferry, NJ/Ridgefield Park), who was named NEC Rookie of the Week and unprecedented four times in 2008, won 60-m dash with a time 7.76