Nov. 29, 2007

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Boston University women's and men's indoor track teams were picked first and tied for second, respectively, in the America East preseason coaches' poll, as was announced by the conference Thursday. The Terriers earned six of eight first-place votes in the women's poll and tied New Hampshire in the men's poll. Neither poll allows coaches to select their own teams.

After winning the conference title last season, Boston University fields a strong team, including seniors Marisa Ryan, Erin Catarius, Tahari James and Jessica Cickay. The Terriers had impressive showings at each meet last season, with James earning the conference's Most Outstanding Performer for the second consecutive year, after setting records in the triple jump and long jump. Ryan was named the America East Women's Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row, recognizing her efforts in the classroom, on the track and in the community.

Slated behind the Terriers in the women's rankings were Albany, New Hampshire, Binghamton, Maine, Vermont, UMBC, Stony Brook and Hartford.

The men's team, which was ranked second with New Hampshire behind Albany, returns senior David Proctor, last year's America East Top Performer of the Year. Proctor missed the qualifying time for the mile at the 2006 NCAA Championship by four-hundredths of a second. Also returning is sophomore Eric Ashe, who set a career best at the America East Championships with a 4:10.77 mile.

Behind BU and UNH, Binghamton was ranked fourth, followed by UMBC, Maine, Stony Brook, Vermont and Hartford.