Women’s Track & Field Receives Five CCC Postseason Major Awards

Posted: May 06, 2024

BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott women's track and field team has earned five Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) postseason major awards, as announced by the league office earlier today.

Kinneal Dickens (Merrimac, Mass.) headlined the Gulls with her first career CCC Field Athlete of the Year award.

Alexa Suchy (Guilford, Conn.) and Hannah Risko (Albany, N.Y.) also garnered CCC Track Rookie of the Year and CCC Scholar-Athlete of the Year accolades, respectively.

Meanwhile, Spencer Lange was named the CCC Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career (2019, 2021, 2023-24) to round out the list of individual award winners.

Along with those merits, Endicott claimed the CCC Team Sportsmanship Award honors for a league-leading sixth straight season (2018-19, 2021-24). The Gulls shared the award this year with Gordon.

Winning the CCC Team Sportsmanship Award comes with great pride for the squad as it is a point of emphasis for the Gulls to embody a positive, encouraging culture within the program and respect their competitors too.

Info on Endicott's four major award winners and the list of All-CCC First, Second, and Third Teams can be found below.

KINNEAL DICKENS | FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Dickens defended her CCC titles in the long jump (16-6.75) and triple jump (34-3, school/personal record) at the league championship meet to earn CCC Field Athlete of the Year accolades.

She was the only field athlete to win multiple events at the CCC Championship and posted the best marks in both events (long jump, 16-7, tied | triple jump, 34-3) among qualified jumpers this season.

Dickens also ranked fourth in the 100m hurdles at the CCC Championship pushing her point total to 24 over the three-day championship.

Dickens is the second student-athlete in program history to earn CCC Field Athlete of the Year honors.

ALEXA SUCHY | TRACK ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Suchy contributed 10 points to Endicott's CCC Championship victory in the 3,000m steeplechase (2nd, 11:54.85) and the 800m (5th, 2:31.06).

The freshman distance runner also finished seventh overall in the 1,500m with a time of 5:08.02, just missing out on scoring another point for the Gulls.

Her season highlights included a 10th place finish in the 3,000m steeplechase at New England's (11:46.46, personal record), her 800m fifth place finish at CCC's (PR) and another personal record in the 1,500m at the Sean Collier Invitational (6th, 5:00.50).

Suchy finished the year as the top-ranked freshman in the 800m, 1,500m, and 3,000m steeplechase.

HANNAH RISKO | SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Risko's season off the track was just as impressive, if not more, than her year on the track (more on that later).

The junior distance runner currently sports a 3.93 cumulative grade point average (GPA) and is scheduled to graduate a year early with her Bachelor of Science in finance.

She is a member of the Sigma Beta Delta Business Honor Society, a multiple Dean's List honoree, and soon to be a two-time CCC Academic All-Conference award winner in the sport.

Risko's experiential learning experiences include internships with CHM Government Services (market and financial analysis) and Trustco Bank (accounting department).

Through those internships, Risko has learned to utilize market research tools for projects and prospectus development; assisted with financial modeling and analysis; and become familiar with several industry-standard software tools.

Her other activities at Endicott include being a peer tutor, captain of the women's track and field team, member of EC L.E.A.D., a Ronald McDonald House Charity volunteer, and a youth sports volunteer coach.

On the track, Risko put together arguably the best distance season in program history.

Risko became the first student-athlete ever to win a New England Championship when she broke the tape in the 5,000m run with a time of 17:38.33, shattering her school record and breaking the facility record, in the process.

She also compiled 24 points at the CCC Championship by placing first in the 800m (2:18.40), second in the 1,500m (4:45.78), and third in the 5,000m (18:11.59).

TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD

As previously mentioned, winning the Team Sportsmanship Award is a core philosophy for the program as it is emphasized by Coach Lange to respect your opponent, the officials, and the sport in general through hard work, appreciation for others' efforts, and integrity while competing.

Prior to this season, Endicott was the only program in CCC Women's Track and Field history to earn the Team Sportsmanship Award (2018-19, 2021-24).

SPENCER LANGE | COACH OF THE YEAR

Lange led Endicott to its second straight CCC Championship behind a full team effort.

The Gulls scored 152 total points to rank ahead of Suffolk (130), the University of New England (112), Gordon (99), Roger Williams (91), Wentworth (3), and Nichols (1).

Endicott's points breakdown went as follows: sprints (19), hurdles (24), distance (44), throws (8), jumps (43), and relays (14).

The Gulls compiled four first place finishes, seven runner-up placements, and four third place performances to capture its second straight CCC Championship.

The following week, Lange led Endicott to a program-best 22nd place finish out of 36 teams at the NCAA Division III New England Championship.

Endicott scored 13 points behind Risko's 5,000m win and top-8 performances by the 4x800m (seventh) and 4x400m (eighth) relays.

Lange now leads his women's track and field peers with a league-best four CCC Coach of the Year awards. The Gulls' program just wrapped up its seventh year of competition, all under the watchful guidance of Lange.

ALL-CCC FIRST TEAM

100m Hurdles – Olivia Novello (Ipswich, Mass.)
800m – Hannah Risko (Albany, N.Y.)
Long Jump – Kinneal Dickens (Merrimac, Mass.)
Triple Jump – Kinneal Dickens (Merrimac, Mass.)

ALL-CCC SECOND TEAM

400m – Julia Maclaine (North Easton, Mass.)
400m Hurdles – Chloe Crear (Pelham, N.H.)
1,500m – Hannah Risko (Albany, N.Y.)
3,000m Steeplechase – Alexa Suchy (Guilford, Conn.)
High Jump – Brianna am Ende (East Lyme, Conn.)
Triple Jump – Logan Baxter (Coventry, R.I.)
4x400m Relay – Julia Maclaine (North Easton, Mass.), Colleen McLaughlin (Ipswich, Mass.), Gabby Peniche (Milford, Mass.), Kaylee Whitney (Milford, Mass.)

ALL-CCC THIRD TEAM

200m – Julia Maclaine (North Easton, Mass.)
5,000m – Hannah Risko (Albany, N.Y.)
Discus – Taylor Moynihan (Hingham, Mass.)
4x100m Relay – Kaylee Carver (Abington, Mass.), Gabrielle Freitas (Middleboro, Mass.), Olivia Novello (Ipswich, Mass.), Kaylee Whitney (Milford, Mass.)