Lehman's Baldwin Wins National Title

CUNY Athletes Earn 7 All-American Honors at NCAA Indoor Champs

Ada, OH -Led by Lehman College junior Paulette Baldwin, six women and one man from Lehman and York Colleges earned All-American honors at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships. The 2002 Championships, held this past weekend at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio was the most productive for the City University of New York Athletic Conference since 1998.

Baldwin, a 5-11 product from Trenton, New Jersey, won the 55-meter hurdles in a CUNY record 7.99 seconds, eclipsing the runner-up by a staggering one-fourth of a second. The clear favorite going into the event, she was the top qualifier this season with a mark of 8.01 seconds. In the preliminaries, Baldwin ran an 8.02 to place first, 0.23 ahead of the silver medallist.

It's an accomplishment that Baldwin has been striving for a while now. Last season she made Nationals in the same event and placed sixth in 8.26, earning her first All-American honor. Two months later, Baldwin tried to better the spot at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and qualified for the finals in the 110-meter high hurdles. After stumbling out of the block, she finished dead last in the 8-woman race, but earned her second All-American honor nonetheless. But this year things seem to be different.

"I was nervous coming into today," said the nine-time CUNY gold medallist. "I wanted to run under eight [seconds] and I did it. I was more dedicated and determined this year. I felt relieved, because I knew the title was in my grasp. I also knew that if I want to compete on the next level after college, I will have to be under 8.00 consistently and I'm starting on that track."

Baldwin may be the present for the Lightning, but freshman sensation Alecia Watson Alecia Watson Alecia Watson Alecia Watson Alecia Watson is definitely the future. The rookie from Evander Childs High School in the Bronx placed fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 11.64 meters, 0.41 meters ahead of her CUNY winning mark two weeks ago.

The two scorers gave Lehman 14 points in the event, a school record and a 9 th place finish.

"I'm very satisfied right now," said Lehman head coach Lesleigh Hogg. "It shows the hard work that Paulette and Alecia put in this year. They dedicated themselves to their weight programs, to practices and sticking to the routine. All of them performed personal bests at the National Championships. That speaks volumes about knowing how to bring out your best at the right time."

"Paulette is just coming into her own," continued Hogg. "She still has room for improvement, and Alecia was a good high school runner, but this is all new to her. She has an extreme amount if maturity for a freshman and her potential is unbelievable."

Lehman's top male athlete, Nabie Fofanah has also put it all together this season. Two years ago, Fofanah, from nearby Clinton High School, qualified for NCAA's in the 55-meter dash and came out to ONU, but the sophomore only managed to finish in 11th place. Now a senior, Fofanah, a seven-time CUNY gold medallist, slotted fifth after the preliminaries with a 6.42 mark and he beat that time by .01 in the final to again place fifth.

"It makes me proud to see how happy he is being an All-American," exclaimed Hogg. "It is something he's very proud of and to see his dedication payoff is something that brings me a great deal of joy."

Another great story over the past few seasons has been the rise of the York College women's track team, as this was the school's first time running on the National stage. After running a school-record 3:57.40 at the CUNY Championships, senior Candace Mussenden (Guyana / Brooklyn, NY) and sophomore Shakima Thomas (Beach Channel / Far Rockaway, NY) qualified for the NCAA's in the 400-meter dash. The duo also led the 4 x 400 meter relay team to Ohio along with junior Daphine Wilson (Canarsie / Brooklyn, NY) and senior Shanequa Sanders (Elmont / Fort Lee, NJ). Individually, Thomas finished 11 th (58.80) and Mussenden was 12 th (58.82), but more importantly the relay team ran 3:56.95 in the final to take fifth place back home to the Jamaica, Queens campus. Moreover, the foursome improved by almost a full second (3:57.48) to move up from seventh place after the preliminaries.

"They improved significantly from the preliminaries to the finals," said York head coach Thomas Pope about his four All-Americans. "For York College, we are very proud, but in order for us to be able to deal with the top teams we need to improve. Individually they all have improved over the past two seasons and I am very impressed with Shakima, she has the whole package."

In 2001, only Baldwin and teammate Lamarah Allen qualified for the Indoor Championships and the last time CUNYAC women scored 18 points (including four by York) was in 1998 when CCNY notched third place with 18 points…The CUNYAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be held at York on May 5th and the NCAA's will be contested two weeks later.

--CUNY--