The men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at the 2019 NEC indoor championships, Feb. 15-16, in Staten Island.

The men’s team finished second with 122.5 points, while the women’s team finished seventh with 54 points.

This was the best finish for the Red Flash men’s indoor track and field team since 2009, when SFU won the NEC title. The 122.5 points were just four-and-a-half points behind 2019 NEC champ LIU-Brooklyn.

“I think that our men’s team performed phenomenally,” said senior sprinter Dashaun Jackson. “We set a goal earlier this year and worked extremely hard to make it a reality.

“We were underdogs going into the meet, but continued to believe in one another and we are extremely happy with the results.”

Jackson won the first individual NEC title of his career in the 60-meter hurdles with a finals time of 8.04. Senior Jeremie Venne also captured his first NEC title and set a new personal-best in the one-mile run, taking home medalist honors with a time of 4:11.06.

“Both teams competed with a lot of heart,” said Red Flash head coach Douglas Hoover. “The men’s team rose to the occasion and didn’t leave too many points out there.”

On the women’s side, sophomore Taylor Weaver repeated as NEC indoor pole vault champion. She currently holds the conference meet record, which she set last year. At this year’s finals, she cleared 12 feet, seven-and-a-half inches to repeat as NEC champ.

“As a team, we left our hearts on the track,” said Weaver. “Not everything went as planned, but we had so many personal records made.”

Next up for qualifying members of the Red Flash indoor track and field teams are the ECAC Championships in Boston on March 2-3.

“We are excited for the outdoor season,” said Hoover. “There are some additional events outdoors that should help us.

“The men saw what is possible at the indoor championships, and the women are in a good position to improve upon where we finished indoors.”