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South Easton, Mass. – Stonehill College freshman Erin Carmone (Riverside, R.I.) and American International College freshman Glarius Rop (Eldoret, Kenya) have been selected the 2009 US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II East Region Athletes of the Year.

The USTFCCCA also honored Stonehill’s Karen Boen and the University of Massachusetts Lowell’s Gary Gardner as East Region Coaches of the Year.

In her first year of collegiate competition, Carmone helped lead the Skyhawks to both Northeast-10 Championship and NCAA Division II East Region championship titles. She finished second overall at the NE-10 Championship in Colchester, Vt., after finishing the 5k course with a time of 18:23. Two weeks later at the East Regional at Franklin Park, Carmone took top honors completing the 6k course with a time of 22:16. Carmone and the Skyhawks will compete at the NCAA Division II Championships in Evansville, Ind., on Saturday.

Also in his first year of collegiate action, Rop helped lead American International to its best-ever finish at the East Regional as the Yellow Jackets finished fifth as a team. He earned his first regional victory after completing the 10k course with a time of 30:15. Two weeks prior, Rop led his team to their best-ever finish at the Northeast-10 Championships with a fifth-place showing while he earned individual honors. He completed the 8k course in a meet-record time of 24:22. Rop, along with teammate Victor Kemboi (Eldoret, Kenya), will compete at the NCAA Championship meet on Saturday.

Boen earned Women’s Coach of the Year honors for the eighth time by the USTFCCCA as she guided the Skyhawks to victories at the Northeast-10 Championships as well as the NCAA Division II East Regional. Stonehill’s victory at the Northeast-10 championship was its third in the last four years. The Skyhawks will be appearing in the NCAA Championships for the tenth straight year on Saturday.

Gardner was named Men’s Coach of the Year by the USTFCCCA as the UMass Lowell men’s team captured its second-straight and seventh overall East Regional title in the last nine years. The River Hawks placed five runners in the top 13 and all seven runners in the top 17. UMass Lowell finished second at the Northeast-10 Championship and had all seven runners competing finish in the top 15. The River Hawks will compete in this weekend’s NCAA Championship meet in Evansville, Ind.

With 16 member institutions the Northeast-10 shares the distinction of being the largest Division II conference in the country along with the PSAC and WVIAC. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.

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