PRINCETON, N.J. – Four distance athletes competed for UMBC to start the weekend for the Retriever track and field team, Friday on the opening day of the ECAC and IC4A Championships at Princeton's William Weaver Track and Field Stadium.

Sophomore Redatu Semeon (Waldorf, Md./Thomas Stone) started UMBC's participation in the championship meets by running in the men's 3,000m steeplechase.  Semeon placed third in section one, and 14th overall, with a time of 9:07.91, less than a half-of-second behind his career-best of 9:07.52 which ranks fourth in the UMBC record book.

For the women, sophomore Nicole Dawson (Jessup, Md./Hammond) and senior Kirsten McGovern (Sykesville, Md./Century) competed in the 10,000m run.  Dawson finished 20th with a time of 37:49.99 while McGovern was two spots back in 22nd with a time of 38:09.98.

Sophomore Hassan Omar (Frederick, Md./Thomas Johnson) completed the Retrievers' action for the night by racing in the men's 5k.  Omar ran in the second of the two sections and finished 25th overall out of 34 athletes with a time of 14:45.45.

The 2014 ECAC and IC4A Championships continue on Saturday morning as the decathlon and heptathlon pick back up at 9:00 a.m.