TRACK & FIELD NOTEBOOK
The University of Vermont men and women begin the 2018 outdoor track schedule with a trip to UMass Lowell this Saturday, March 31. The meet is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at the Cushing Field Complex.
 
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2018 OUTDOOR SEASON KICKOFF
The UVM track & field program begins on Saturday with the first of six meets scheduled over the next five weekends.
 
The Catamounts travel to UMass Amherst next weekend before the Dartmouth Invitational in mid-April. The team then splits between the Mt. SAC Relays in California and the Albany Spring Invitational the following weekend. The Cats conclude the regular season schedule with a return trip to UMass Amherst to close out the April schedule.
 
Vermont then competes at the America East Outdoor Championships, the New England Championships, and the NCAA East Preliminaries in May.
 
LAST YEAR'S MEET
It is the first trip to UMass Lowell to open the outdoor season since the 2016 season. Last year's scheduled meet was canceled due to winter weather.
 
In 2016, the Catamounts had several strong finishes in the non-scoring event. Dan Moroney '16 took first in the 3,000m run with a time of 8:39.12 and Thomas O'Leary '16, now a volunteer assistant at UVM, won the one-mile race with a time of 4:13.63.
 
NOLAN NAMED TO ALL-ACADEMIC SQUAD
Junior Katie Nolan capped off a strong indoor campaign with a spot on the 2018 America East Indoor Track All-Academic Team.
 
One of ten females named to the team, Nolan possesses an impressive 3.92 GPA in the Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science major.
 
Nolan earned America East All-Conference honors in the 1,000m by taking second overall with a time of 2:50.36.
 
2017 OUTDOOR SEASON IN REVIEW
After the opening trip to UMass Lowell was canceled, the Catamounts opened the 2017 outdoor season with a trip to the Ocean State for Bryant University's Black & Gold Invitational. In the opener, the women took third as a team with the men placing sixth.
 
The following weekend's trip to UMass Amherst saw the women take third overall among four schools with the men taking first overall.
 
The women finished second and the men third at last season's Dartmouth Invitational. Both squads took first overall at the Catamount Invitational in the second half of the season.
 
At the America East Outdoor Championships, the women finished sixth with the men finishing in seventh place. Eleven Catamounts earned All-Conference honors, headlined by four champions. Paul Moore (3,000m steeplechase), Ed Simon (pole vault), Ian Weider (long jump), and Grace Weisbecker (pole vault) captured the America East crowns in their respective events.
 
2018 INDOOR RECORD-BREAKERS
The 2017-18 indoor season saw several Catamount records broken. Justin Liechty set the stage as he broke the 400m dash record three separate times.
 
Liechty first broke the 2009 record of 48.84s, held by Justin Scricca '09, at the New England Championships. He finished second at the regional meet with a time of 48.68s, earning All-New England honors.
 
Liechty posted a time of 48.61s at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational, breaking his own record just a week after setting his first mark.
 
The New York native shattered his best at the ECAC/IC4A Championships, posting a time of 48.31s to take fourth, just missing All-ECAC honors.
 
Liechty also helped the men's 4x400m relay team break the UVM record twice. Liechty, along with Dan DeBlieck, Taylor Kracher, and Ahmed Noor, posted a mark of 3:15.52 at the America East Indoor Championships. The time broke the previous record by exactly two seconds.
 
At the ECAC/IC4A Championships, Liechty, DeBlieck, Noor, and Will Juniper brought the UVM record down to 3:15.41.
 
Kracher broke a record of his own at the ECAC/IC4A Championships, posting a UVM record time of 1:51.50 in the 800m run. He broke a six-year old mark held by Andy Stillman '13.
 
2018 INDOOR ALL-CONFERENCE ATHLETES
Three Catamounts earned America East All-Conference honors at this year's championships, held at Boston University's Track & Tennis Center.
 
Vermont's lone champion, Colchester native Pearl Abiti, won the pentathlon with 3,433 points. She finished in the top-five in all events, notably taking first in the long jump (17-9.00, 5.41m) and third in the shot put.
 
Kracher finished second in the 800m with a time of 1:52.67 to earn All-Conference laurels. Nolan posted a time of 2:50.36 in the 1,000m to finish second and grab All-Conference honors for the second straight year.
 
2018 INDOOR ALL-NEW ENGLANDERS
Five Catamounts earned All-New England honors in the regional meet held at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center in Roxbury, Massachusetts.
 
Liechty broke the UVM 400m dash record for the first time as he finished second with a time of 48.68s.
 
Lauren Trumble took fourth in the one-mile with a time of 4:54.18. She posted ECAC/IC4A qualifying times in the 800m, 1,000m, and one-mile runs throughout the indoor season.
 
Nolan finished just behind Trumble in fifth with a time of 4:54.88.
 
Allen Vance posted a time of 2:29.45 in the 1,000m run to take fourth and earn All-New England accolades.
 
Captain Aaron Lucci finished sixth in the 3,000m run with a time of 8:35.02 for regional honors.
 
NEXT UP
Vermont returns to Massachusetts for a meet scheduled at UMass Amherst. The action is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 7.