NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The Little East Conference announced its 2007-08 Women’s Indoor Track and Field end of the season awards this afternoon after a vote by the conference’s six coaches. Keene State College seniors Jennifer Adams (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) and Crystal Blamy (Walpole, N.H.) were named the Little East Conference Track and Field Athletes of the Year, while Rhode Island College sophomore Steina Flemming (Tortola, BVI) and University of Southern Maine freshman Christina Connolly (Boise, Idaho) earned Little East Conference Rookie Track and Field Athletes of the Year honors, respectively. Huskies Head Coach George Towle was tabbed the Little East Conference Coach of the Year by his fellow peers.

Adams became the 10th Keene State College student-athlete to capture a national championship, winning the 2008 NCAA Division III Championship in the 5,000-meter race. The Saratoga Springs, N.Y. product set a Kinghorn Sports Center facility record with a time of 16:58.71 to earn her second career national title and eighth All-America honor. Adams posted her season-best time in the 5,000-meter event at the Boston University Valentine Classic, crossing the finish line in 16:46.32. She also won the New England Alliance/Little East Conference Championship in the 1,000-meter race and mile, while placing second in the New England Division III Championship in the mile. Adams was named the 2007 Little East Conference Female Runner of the Year in cross country.

Blamy claimed the 2008 NCAA Division III National Championship in the high jump, clearing 5-07.75 to become the ninth Keene State College athlete to stand atop the podium on the national stage. The native of Walpole, N.H. defeated her closest competitor at the national championships by three-fourths of an inch to earn her third career All-America honor. Highly decorated in the high jump, Blamy won the ECAC Division III Championship with a season-best leap of 5-09.25, while also winning the New England Division III Championship and New England Alliance/Little East Conference Championship. She was also named the Northeast Female Athlete of the Year.

Flemming made an immediate impact on the Rhode Island College indoor track and field roster in her rookie campaign, qualifying for the 2008 NCAA Division III National Championships in the 55-meter race. The Tortola, British Virgin Islands native set the Anchorwomen’s program record in the 55-meters at the ECAC Division III Championships with a time of 7.17. Fleming won the New England Alliance/Little East Conference Championship in the 55-meter race, while placing second in the 200 meters.

Connolly captured the 2008 New England Alliance/Little East Conference Championship in the pole vault, clearing 3.05 meters to finish 0.31 meters ahead of her nearest competitor. The Boise, Idaho product placed third in the New England Division III Championship and 10th in the ECAC Division III Championship. Her vault of 10-06.75 was a season-best at the ECAC Championship meet.

In his 11th season at the helm of the University of Southern Maine women’s program, Towle led the Huskies to their eighth consecutive New England Alliance/Little East Conference Championship this past winter. Southern Maine dominated the championship meet, defeating its closest competition by 77.50 points. The Huskies also collected their third Maine State Championship in the past four seasons. Towle mentored a conference-best 13 student-athletes on the Little East Conference Winter All-Academic Teams.

Initially formed in 1986 as a six-team men's and women's basketball conference, the Little East Conference has since grown to its present eight-school membership, sponsoring championship play in 19 intercollegiate athletics: baseball; men's and women's basketball; men's and women's cross country; field hockey; men's and women's lacrosse; men's and women's soccer; softball; women's swimming; men's and women's tennis; men's and women's indoor track; men's and women's outdoor track and women's volleyball.