ROCHESTER, N.Y. (July 2, 2019)  – Stevens Institute of Technology junior Gina Dello Russo was named Empire 8 Conference Women's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year, senior Katie Weeks was named the league's Women's Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year and Lance Harden was named Women's Outdoor Coach of the Year, the league office announced as part of its season-end outdoor track and field awards.

Dello Russo placed third in the 400-meter dash and seventh in the 200 at the NCAA Division III Championships to repeat as a two-time All-American for the fourth straight national championship meet. The accolades pushed the Whippany, New Jersey native's career total to eight, making Dello Russo the second-most decorated runner in program history. She was named Outdoor Track Athlete of the Meet after capturing five conference titles at the conference championship meet. Dello Russo was also the Track Athlete of the Meet at the indoor championship.

"Gina has been our torchbearer all year on the track and she really brought her 'A' game at NCAA's, setting two personal bests (and school records) in the 200," Harden said. "Her time of 24.27 in the championship race was over sixth-tenths-of-a second faster than her best time from last year, which is a staggering amount of improvement in that event. She also posted her two fastest 400-meter times this year at NCAAs, so to go 4-for-4 in season bests on the big stage is really all that you can ask for."

Weeks earned three Empire 8 titles, while setting a pair of meet records, en route to Outdoor Field Athlete of the Meet honors. The performance at the championship meet helped the Toms River, New Jersey native earn Atlantic Region Women's Outdoor Field of the Year honors from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Weeks reached the outdoor national championship meet in three different events and concluded her distinguished career on Castle Point as a three-time All-American and is the school's record holder in five different events.

"Katie accomplished nearly every goal she set for herself: breaking two school records, eclipsing two E8 meet records, winning three E8 titles, and qualifying for NCAAs in all of those events," Harden offered. "More importantly, she guided our team to its first-ever outdoor team title and her leadership and doggedness in the pursuit of excellence was paramount in that achievement.  It has been a great final two years for her, and I can't thank her enough for her contributions to the team."

Harden piloted the Ducks to both the men's and women's outdoor conference championships in his first season on Castle Point. The Ducks swept both the indoor and outdoor conference titles and Harden and staff captured Women's Coaching Staff of the Year recognition during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. The outdoor crown was the first in both men's and women's program history. 

"I would like to recognize our coaching staff for their efforts this year," Harden shared. "Mike Larkin brought energy and expertise to our multi-event group and was a big help technically for our hurdlers and jumpers. Chris Sandoli went above and beyond and filled in whenever we needed him and has done a wonderful job developing our young pole vaulters and elevating our multi-eventers. Alina Duran stepped up when we were down a full-time coach, and she was outstanding in guiding our athletes during the championships portion of the season. Lastly, Veronica Montrose wore so many hats this season and has literally coached every athlete on our team at some point this year. Her primary group of sprinters, hurdlers, and jumpers outperformed their seeds across the board at the conference meet and played a massive role in earning us both team titles."

Additionally, graduate student Parker Dimock and junior Melissa Barnes were Stevens' representatives on the conference's Men's Sportsman of the Year Team and Women's Sportsman of the Year Team, respectively. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. The honorees on the league's Sportsman of the Year Team have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen. 

"We will dearly miss Parker, not only for his consistently superb performances in the hammer and javelin, but even more so for his jovial and calming daily presence," Harden said. "Parker is the type of student-athlete that puts everyone in the group at ease and that you look forward to working with, and we are delighted that he has been aptly honored as our Sportsman of the Year."
 
"Melissa has been one of our hardest and most consistent workers all year, and her work ethic and attention to technique paid off in the form of immense improvement across a range of events," Harden continued. "She has been a workhorse for us, competing in multiple events and disciplines and always volunteering for the 4x400m relay at the end of busy meets. We are pleased to see that her team-oriented attitude has also been recognized by the conference in the form of Sportswoman of the Year.

"We are thrilled that Gina, Katie, Melissa, and Parker have been recognized by the E8 for their tremendous seasons."

The respective awards were the final Empire 8-issued awards for the department. Stevens officially joined the MAC Freedom on July 1. Click here for the Empire 8's official release.

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