West Babylon, N.Y. – The Georgian Court men's and Holy Family women's track & field teams were selected first in the East Coast Conference Indoor Track & Field preseason polls released on Friday afternoon. In addition, St. Thomas Aquinas’ Emmanuel Mena Jimenez (West Haverstraw, N.Y.) and Georgian Court's Aniyah Russell (Jackson, N.J.) were named the ECC Preseason Athletes of the Year.
Georgian Court ran away with the men’s poll as a unanimous first place selection. The Lions have won three straight ECC Indoor Championships. St. Thomas Aquinas who was last year’s ECC Outdoor Track & Field Champion came in second, followed by Roberts Wesleyan and Holy Family, who were separated by just three points.
Holy Family outpaced runner-up Georgian Court in the women’s poll. The Tigers, who won their first-ever ECC Championship last season, earned six of 11 first place votes to finish atop the poll with 114 points. The Lions earned four first place votes of their own to rank second with 108 points. Roberts Wesleyan was third with 92 points, right ahead of Daemen who tallied 87 points. University of the District of Columbia, who earned the final first place vote, was fifth in the poll.
Russell repeats as the conference’s Women’s Preseason Athlete of the Year. Russell was the ECC Champion in the long jump (5.78m) for the third straight year and also in the triple jump (11.29m). She went on to earn All-American honors in the long jump at the NCAA Division II Indoor National Championship with a leap of 6.06m to finish in fifth place. She also won the long jump in three other meets and finished in the top three in two others during last year’s indoor season.
Mena Jimenez earns the men’s preseason honor after earning the ECC Outdoor Athlete of the Year award last year. During last year’s indoor campaign, he excelled in the weight throw, finishing as the ECC Champion (17.16m). Mena Jimenez also won the weight throw at the Monmouth Winter Collegiate Invitational and the Ramapo Track & Field Opener and finished in the top three at the Great Dane Classic and Spartan Invite. Additionally, he earned Second Team All-Conference honors with a fourth place finish in the shot put (14.23m) at the ECC Championship.
2022-23 ECC Men's Indoor Track & Field Preseason Poll
| School | Pts. |
| 1. Georgian Court (9) | 81 |
| 2. St. Thomas Aquinas | 61 |
| 3. Roberts Wesleyan | 59 |
| 4. Holy Family | 56 |
| 5. Molloy | 44 |
| 6. Daemen | 37 |
| 7. Post | 30 |
| 8. Queens | 20 |
| 9. Staten Island | 17 |
2022-23 ECC Women's Indoor Track & Field Preseason Poll
| School | Pts. |
| 1. Holy Family (6) | 114 |
| 2. Georgian Court (4) | 108 |
| 3. Roberts Wesleyan | 92 |
| 4. Daemen | 87 |
| 5. Dist. Columbia (1) | 79 |
| 6. St. Thomas Aquinas | 70 |
| 7. Molloy | 53 |
| 8. Post | 40 |
| 9. Queens | 38 |
| 10. D'Youville | 24 |
| 11. Staten Island | 21 |
( ) - first place votes
