Athletics
 

 
 
 
 
 
Cowan, Blackburn Make History At NCAA New England Division III Championships

Star hurdlers both earn All-New England honors; Cowan becomes program's first three-time honoree.

 
 


Dan Cowan '08 became Babson's first three-time All-New England honoree.

May 5, 2008

Results

BABSON PARK, Mass. - Babson College senior captain Dan Cowan and sophomore captain Lauren Blackburn both made history on Saturday, as each earned All-New England honors at the 2008 NCAA New England Division III Championships at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

Competing in the 110 meter hurdles, Cowan placed seventh in the qualifying heat with a time of 15.85. He followed that up with another seventh-place effort in the finals, finishing in 15.95 seconds. It marked the third straight season in which the senior star garnered All-New England honors in the event, making him the first person in Babson track and field history to earn regional honors in three different seasons.

After just missing all-region status with a ninth-place finish in the 400 hurdles last spring, Blackburn broke into the top eight with a spectacular time of 1:06.24 on Saturday, helping her garner All-New England honors for the first time. It was the second fastest time in Babson history behind her own school record of 1:05.04 set at last week's NEWMAC Championships.

Other highlights on the women's side included two stellar races by first-year Larina Kleynerman, who finished 18th in both the 100 meter dash and the 200 meter dash. In the 100, she posted a time of 13.33 - her fourth fastest ever - and in the 200 she finished in 27.43 - just .09 seconds shy of her own school record set on the same track earlier this year. Senior captain Claudia Schulz also just missed breaking her own school record in the 1500 meter run, as she finished with a time of 4:59.47, while Schulz, Blackburn, first-year Lauren Palmer, and first-year Nicole Crowley teamed up to place 11th in the 4x400 meter relay. Their time of 4:26.28 was less than a second off the Babson record set by the same quartet last weekend.

 

 

Rounding out Babson's list of competitors were sophomore Katie Trant, who tied for 15th overall in the high jump with a height of 4 feet, 9 inches, and senior Kirill Kustov, who was not able to finish after suffering an injury in the 110 meter hurdles.