Vermette's 10K win, El Fahim's pair of medals lead track at NE10 Championship
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut – Kendyl Vermette led the women of the American International College track and field team by taking the gold medal in the 10,000-meter run, while Ayoub El Fahim was the top scorer for the men with a pair of medal-winning sprints at the 2024 Northeast-10 Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 3-4 at Southern Connecticut State University.
AIC's women finished eighth of 10 teams, while the men were sixth of nine.
Among AIC's scoring contingent for the women on the track were Monique Malcolm, who took fifth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.38 seconds, exactly matching her time from the preliminary round, and Jacqueline Owens in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:09.72, finishing sixth in the finals after going eighth in the prelims.
Deborah Ofodile, who was sixth in the 100-meter hurdles at 14.85 seconds, also netted AIC points in the triple jump. Her leap of 10.83 meters on her second jump was good for fifth, despite it being her lone jump into a headwind.
The story for AIC, however, was the last big race of the first day. Vermette, who had taken the bronze in 2022 and the silver in 2023 in the meet's longest event, was a dominant force. Leading for most of the race by a few steps, she kicked into another gear in the final 1200 meters, pulling away from Southern Connecticut's Emilie Noreika and Southern New Hampshire's Kelsey Seamans, the lone athlete to finish in front of Vermette in 2023. AIC's junior was not to be denied this time, crossing the line first in 38:09.37 and being carried back to her team's tent by her overjoyed teammates.
The men had some outstanding performances as well. Joel Lisoma scored in the 110-meter hurdles, taking sixth in 15.56 seconds, and Sadadine Adam continued his high level of distance running, finishing fifth in the 10,000-meter run on the first day and then gritting his way to a silver medal in the 5,000-meter run on day two, finishing just 1.15 seconds back of the win in a time of 15:12.16.
El Fahim announced his presence in the conference in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes with third-place finishes in both, at 10.67 and 21.31 seconds respectively, and also ran the first leg of AIC's sixth-place 4x400-meter relay with Michael Henderson, Silas Choge, and Anthony Edokpa.
AIC's jumps and throws also contributed. ToRae Wright took sixth in the triple jump, sailing 13.62 meters on his final attempt. Troy Baxter scored in both the discus and hammer, taking eighth and fifth respectively. Loudon Chupas had the most impressive day for AIC in field events, landing sixth in the javelin with a career-best 55.03 meter throw and pushing the high jump event into a jump off, ultimately taking second place by clearing 1.93 meters, also a career best.