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Robert Morris University Athletics

Rachael Kotula

Women's Track and Field

Colonials Claim Third at NEC Outdoor Championships

Senior Rachael Kotula Named 2014 NEC Most Outstanding Field Perfomer

Official Results

Pittsburgh, Pa. – In what came down to the final event of the day, the Robert Morris University women's track & field team just missed out on earning the team title at the 2014 Northeast Conference Outdoor Championships Sunday at the RMU Island Sports Center on Neville Island.

The Colonials finished third with 131.50 points, just three points shy of team champion LIU Brooklyn (134.50). Sacred Heart finished second with 132 points. Following RMU were Mount St. Mary's (96), Saint Francis U. (80), Wagner (60), Bryant (57), Central Connecticut State (57), Fairleigh Dickinson (42) and St. Francis Brooklyn (29).

The 131.50 points are the most Robert Morris has ever scored at the NEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, eclipsing 129 points the Colonials compiled in 2005.

Senior Rachael Kotula (East Berlin, Pa. / Bermudian Springs) was tabbed the 2014 NEC Most Outstanding Field Performer of the championships after recording IC4A/ECAC qualifying marks in the shot put, discus and javelin.

Kotula took home silver in the javelin Sunday with a toss of 45.09 meters (147'11") and also claimed bronze in the discus thanks to a mark of 43.09 meters (149'9"), a personal record. She added silver in the shot put Saturday with a distance of 13.70 meters (44'11.50") to earn All-NEC Second Team honors in a pair of events.

Senior Yulia Vasilyeva (Volgograd, Russia) also helped RMU's cause Sunday in the triple jump, as she claimed the individual title and All-NEC First Team accolades thanks to a leap of 12.16 meters (39'10.75"). In addition to qualifying for the IC4A/ECAC Championships in the event, Vasilyeva also established a new Robert Morris outdoor record in the event.

Joining Vasilyeva as an individual champion for the Colonials Sunday was junior Aubree Ray (Middletown, Pa. / Middletown Area), who won the discus. Ray finished with a mark of 46.48 meters (152'6"), which qualified her for the IC4A/ECAC Championships.

Joining Kotula and Ray in scoring for RMU in the discus was freshman Rachel Boody (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Shaler), who finished fifth with a distance of 40.43 meters (132'8"). Garnering All-NEC Rookie Team accolades for the Colonials was freshman April Krivoniak (Greensburg, Pa. / Latrobe), who earned bronze in the shot put thanks to a toss of 12.69 meters (41'7.75").

In other field events Sunday, junior Bethany Ledford (Huntingdon, Pa. / Huntingdon) finished second in the pole vault with a mark of 3.65 meters (11'11.75") to earn All-NEC Second Team honors, while sophomore Evyn Selden (Grove City, Pa. / Grove City) tied for eighth with a leap of 2.80 meters (9'2.25") to score half a point.

In the track events for RMU, senior Lindsay Erath (Aliquippa, Pa. / Hopewell) earned fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:35.13, while junior Alexandra Zielinski (Buffalo, N.Y. / West Seneca East) finished fifth at 12:09.54.

Junior Marissa Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Oakland Catholic) took home sixth place in the 1,500-meter with a time of 4:42.50, while sophomore Tatiana Struble (Round Rock, Texas / Round Rock) finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles.  She posted a time of 14.64 in the 100-meter hurdles and 1:07.79 in the 400-meter hurdles.

Up next for Robert Morris is the IC4A/ECAC Championships, which take place May 16-18, 2014, in Princeton, N.J.

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