WEST BABYLON, N.Y. – The Georgian Court men's and Holy Family women's track and field teams were selected first in the East Coast Conference Indoor Track and Field preseason polls, as voted on by the league’s head coaches and announced on Monday afternoon. Additionally, St. Thomas Aquinas’ Emmanuel Mena Jimenez (West Haverstraw, N.Y.) and Holy Family’s Nishorn Pierre (Grenada) were tabbed the men’s Preseason Co-Athletes of the Year while D’Youville’s Raechel Zielinski (Hamburg, N.Y.) was voted the women’s Preseason Athlete of the Year.
Coming off of four consecutive ECC Indoor Track and Field Championship titles, Georgian Court earned 97 points and seven total first-place votes to top the poll. The Lions shared last winter’s indoor title with Holy Family, who finished second in the preseason poll with 92 points and three first-place votes.
Roberts Wesleyan (68 points), who won last year’s ECC Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship, St. Thomas Aquinas (60 points), and Molloy (58 points) rounded out the top five while Daemen (48 points), Felician (46 points), and Queens (32 points) went 6-8 and Post (27 points) and Staten Island (22 points) closed the poll in ninth and 10th, respectively.
A 2023 All-American in the discus, Mena Jimenez took home the ECC gold medals in the indoor weight throw, outdoor discus, and outdoor hammer throw and silver medals in the indoor and outdoor shot put last year. The St. Thomas Aquinas junior was named last spring’s ECC Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year and went on to finish 11th in the discus at last spring’s NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships en route to All-American Second Team recognition.
A 2023 All-American in the high jump, Pierre returns for his junior season after being selected the 2023 USTFCCCA Indoor Track and Field East Region Men’s Field Athlete of the Year. Pierre earned ECC gold medals in both the high jump and long jump and a silver medal in the triple jump at last year’s ECC indoor meet en route to ECC Men’s Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year recognition. He was also chosen by the conference’s coaches as the Men’s Most Outstanding Athlete of the ECC Championship as his aforementioned 28 points helped the Tigers of Holy Family finish as co-champions last winter.
Coming off of back-to-back ECC Indoor Track and Field Championship titles, Holy Family outpaced Georgian Court in the women’s poll. The Tigers tallied 140 points and eight first-place votes to finish atop the preseason stadings while the Lions finished second with 123 points and one first-place vote and District of Columbia went third with 116 points and two first-place votes.
Roberts Wesleyan (100 points), who won last year’s ECC Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship, Daemen (81 points), Felician (80 points, 1 first-place vote), and Molloy (75 points) went 4-7 while St. Thomas Aquinas (66 points), D’Youville (44 points), Queens (42 points), Post (36 points) and Staten Island (33 points) closed the poll in eighth, ninth, 10th, 11th, and 12th, respectively.
New to the ECC this year, SUNY Geneseo-to-D'Youville transfer Zielinski turned in four top-five 800m finishes at the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference Championships, including a runner-up statement at this past spring’s outdoor meet. The D’Youville graduate student racked up five medals at the State University of New York Athletic Conference Championships, including gold in the indoor 4x400m relay and Distance Medley Relay, silver in the outdoor 800m, and bronze in the indoor 800m and outdoor 4x400m relay. Most recently having competed on the trails this fall, Zielinski finished 12th at the ECC Cross Country Championship and 36th at the NCAA East Region Cross Country Championship.
Season openers include:
Thursday, November 30
Liberty Kick-Off (Lynchburg, Va.) - District of Columbia
Friday, December 1
Fastrack Season Opener (Staten Island, N.Y.) - Georgian Court, Holy Family
Houghton December Classic (Houghton, N.Y.) - Daemen, D'Youville, Roberts Wesleyan
Saturday, December 2
TCNJ Winter Open (New York, N.Y.) - Felician, St. Thomas Aquinas
Youree Spence Garcia Invitational (Staten Island, N.Y.) - Molloy, Staten Island
Friday, December 8
Wagner College Shootout (Staten Island, N.Y.) - Queens
2023-24 ECC Men's Indoor Track and Field Preseason Poll
1. Georgian Court - 97 points (7 first-place votes)
2. Holy Family - 92 points (3 first-place votes)
3. Roberts Wesleyan - 68 points
4. St. Thomas Aquinas - 60 points
5. Molloy - 58 points
6. Daemen - 48 points
7. Felician - 46 points
8. Queens - 32 points
9. Post - 27 points
10. Staten Island - 22 points
ECC Preseason Co-Athletes of the Year: Emmannuel Mena-Jimenez, St. Thomas Aquinas and Nishorn Pierre, Holy Family
2023-24 ECC Women's Indoor Track and Field Preseason Poll
1. Holy Family - 140 points (8 first-place votes)
2. Georgian Court - 123 points (1 first-place vote)
3. District of Columbia - 116 points (2 first-place votes)
4. Roberts Wesleyan - 100 points
5. Daemen - 81 points
6. Felician - 80 points (1 first-place vote)
7. Molloy - 75 points
8. St. Thomas Aquinas - 66 points
9. D'Youville - 44 points
10. Queens - 42 points
11. Post - 36 points
12. Staten Island - 33 points
ECC Preseason Athlete of the Year: Raechel Zielinski, D'Youville