Flower garners honors at Sage to wrap the 2018-2019 season
SAGE HONORS ROOKIE KERRY FLOWER AT ATHLETIC AWARD BANQUET
Albany, NY— The Sage Colleges' Department of Athletics recently honored a number of Sage student-athletes in conjunction with the annual Athletic Award Banquet. New this year, Sage created a Female and a Male Rookie of the Year, while also handing out Gator of the Year awards in all 17 sports as well as a Male and Female Athlete of the Year.
Honored for her outstanding rookie season as a member of the Sage women's outdoor track and field team and as a member of the cross country team as Sage was newcomer, Kerry Flower (Schenactady, NY/Schalmont). Flower was selected as the inaugural Female Rookie of the Year, while also earning Gator of the Year status as a member of the women's outdoor track and field team at Sage.
Sage's head cross country and track and field coach, David Taranto said of Flower, "Kerry has made an incredible impact on the program in just her first year as a student-athlete here at Sage." He added, "She has completely rewritten the record book for the women's distance running, setting marks in the 800 meter, the 1,500 meter, the 5,000 meter and the 10,000 meter runs. She has a bright future ahead of her and I know she has an eye on qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the coming years after posting a nationally ranked time this spring."
Among the many highlights for Kerry this season, she became the first Sage field competitor at the 2019 All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference Championships at SUNY-Cortland in May. She competed in the 10,000 meter run and finished in 15th place with her time of 40:15.68. The race wraps her stellar rookie season that saw her break several school records and the team Gator of the Year honors in track and field. She now holds the school record in the 1,500 meter in 5:09.88, the 5,000 meter run in 19:02.96, as well as the 10,000 meter run in 38:43.00. She also broke the 800 meter dash mark but it was surpassed this spring by another team mate. She earned two citations as the Empire 8 Spring Track and Field Athlete of the Week over the course of the season.
In the fall, Flower finished in 17th place at the 2018 Empire 8 Cross Country Championships in 27:27.37 and became the first Sage female cross country student-athlete to earn Empire 8 All-Star acclaim after picking up second team acclaim for her efforts.
