TROY, N.Y. - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) head coach Colin Tory has announced that Emily Black, Sarah Dalakos, Lorna Drexler and Kassie Kromish will serve as captains of the women's track & field team for the 2019-20 season. The Engineers begin competition on Saturday at the Smith College Winter Classic in Northampton, Mass.

A senior, Black (Brunswick, ME / Brunswick) competes in the 400, 800 and relays. During the 2018-19 indoor season, she participated in six different meets, helping the team to two wins, a runner-up and a pair of third place finishes. She then set personal college-bests in the 400 Hurdles (1:11.82) and 400 meters (1:02.55) during the outdoor season. An electrical engineering major, Black won the 400 Hurdles at the Capital District Classic in Troy.

Dalakos (Niskayuna, NY / Niskayuna), a senior sprinter and jumper, competed in the 60, 200 and long jump last winter. She had career-bests in all three with marks of 8.05 (60) and 27.35 (200) at the Liberty League Championship Meet and 4.84 (long jump) at Utica College. The materials engineering major then established a new career-best in the 200 with a time of 26.90 at Tufts University. Dalakos also had her best 100 time of 12.58, which took place at the conference championship, where she also participated in the 200 and 4x100. 

A junior thrower, Drexler (Millstone, NJ / Allentown) had a pair of college-bests during the indoor season with distances of 11.45 meters in the shot put and 13.54 in the weight throw, both at the Liberty League Championship. She then threw the shot, discus, hammer and javelin during outdoor and earned personal-bests in three of the four. The biomedical engineering major reached 41.07 in the hammer and 35.40 in the javelin - both at Tufts - and 33.21 in the discus at the conference meet.

Kromish (Marlton, NJ / Cherokee), a distance runner, ran the 3000 and 5000 during indoor and the 5000 and 10000 in outdoor. She established two career-bests during the winter as she ran 11:12.94 in the 3000 at Middlebury College and 18:54.06 in the 5000 at the Liberty League Championship. A civil engineering major, Kromish ran a personal-best time of 38:56.04 in the 10000 meters at the conference meet. She is also a member of the cross country team, serving as a captain for the past two seasons. This year the Engineers finished 13th in the nation in Division III.

Following its meet at Smith, Rensselaer travels to Utica College on December 14 before taking a break between semesters. RPI is coming off a campaign in which it won two indoor meets and two outdoor and had a pair of second place finishes. This year's squad, which begins outdoor competition on March 21 at Wagner College, has 15 freshmen, 15 sophomores, eight juniors and 14 seniors.