LIU track star Rodney runs back to NCAAs

Earns Fourth Straight Trip to Outdoor National Championships

June 1, 2016 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Graduate student Brendon Rodney broke his own school record in the 200-meter dash last weekend in Jacksonville, Florida and qualified for this month’s NCAA Outdoor National Track Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Photo courtesy of LIU-Brooklyn Athletics

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LIU-Brooklyn graduate student Brendon Rodney punched his ticket to the NCAA Outdoor National Championships for the fourth straight year last weekend during the East Preliminary Heat in Jacksonville, Florida, breaking his own school record in the 200-meter dash in the process.

Rodney, who posted a personal best of 20.18 in the 200 during the 2015 IAAF World Championships, blistered that mark by coming in at 19.97 during his first dash on Saturday after posting a time of 20.24 Friday.

The trip to Eugene, Oregon next week for the national championships will be the fourth and final one for Rodney, who has earned a pair of Second Team All-America honors as a Blackbird to go along with an honorable mention nod during his freshman campaign.

Rodney will also be a part of the Blackbirds’ 4×100-meter relay team at the NCAAs after he joined senior Tyquan Dukes, junior Delano Davis and freshman sensation Caleb Williams in grabbing seventh place out of 24 participants over the weekend with a season-best time of 39.54.

Overall, the Blackbirds ran a faster time than teams from Auburn, South Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Penn State and Mississippi State, and finished just one-one hundredth of a second behind Florida State en route to the group’s second straight NCAA Championships appearance.

Senior standout Mica-Jonathan Petit-Homme will also represent the Blackbirds in Eugene in the 400-meter hurdles.

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Though the LIU baseball team failed to reach the Northeast Conference championships this year, sophomore pitcher Baylor LaPointe was named to the All-NEC second team after a very strong campaign.

The second-year right-hander was named NEC Pitcher of the Week twice in his debut season in Downtown Brooklyn, going 7-5 in 14 starts.

A native of Amston, Connecticut, LaPointe finished the year ranked in the top five in multiple categories among the league’s hurlers, including an NEC-best 88 2/3 innings pitched.

He finished fourth in earned run average (3.05), fifth in opposing batting average (.241) and wins (seven) and sixth in total strikeouts (57).

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Over at Brooklyn College, three Bulldogs were named Arthur Ashe Jr. Scholars for 2016 for their dedication to student athleticism.

Karen Mak and Twanda Holder of the women’s basketball team and Jasmine Fermin of the women’s soccer team all received plaudits for their performance on the field and in the classroom.

Headlining the trio is Mak, a sophomore guard and captain of the women’s basketball team, who is majoring in kinesiology.

She finished with a perfect 4.0 GPA during the fall semester and carries an overall 3.98 through three semesters.

Mak was also impressive on the basketball court, especially toward the end of the season, taking home Most Outstanding Player honors after the Bulldogs’ second ECAC championship in a row.

She was also named All-Tournament following BC’s championship game appearance in this year’s CUNYAC tournament.

Joining Mak on the Ashe Second Team is teammate Holder, an early childhood/special education major, who finished the fall semester with a 3.78 GPA, boosting her cumulative grade point average up to 3.53 through five semesters.

The do-it-all junior guard was a staple in the Bulldogs’ starting lineup finishing in the top-five on the team in scoring with 7.5 points per game.

Qualifying for a Fourth team spot after earning a near perfect 3.94 GPA for the fall semester, Fermin would boost her cumulative GPA up to 3.34 through seven semesters.

The business major also completed a storied college soccer career by being named the CUNYAC Defensive Player of the Year.

She would go on to be named a First Team All-ECAC All-Star following her senior season.

Fermin played a huge role in the Bulldogs’ back-to-back CUNYAC championships in her sophomore and junior years.

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Over on Remsen Street, members of the St. Francis Terriers’ administrative and coaching staff took part in a one-day educational workshop on May 17 at Marist College, hosted by the Alliance of Women Coaches in partnership with the America East Conference, Northeast Conference, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and Patriot League.

“Thank you, Alliance of Women coaches, for putting together, along with the NEC, America East, MAAC and Patriot League, a fantastic forum,” said Terriers’ Director of Athletics and trailblazer Irma Garcia.

“As an AD, it was inspiring to share ideas, commonalities, concerns, stories and creative ways to solve problems,” added Garcia, the first Latina to head an NCAA Division I athletic department. “More importantly, it was a great way to empower and bring in amazing women coaches to network and gain new support systems.”

“Attending the Alliance of Women Coaches Forum was a fantastic opportunity to learn from and listen to some of the most successful female coaches and administrators in the Northeast,” said Terriers head volleyball coach Abra Rummel.

“I am very thankful for the privilege to attend and look forward to utilizing some of the lessons learned during this conference within my own program.”