NEW LONDON, Conn. – It was a solid day of action for the UMass Dartmouth women's track & field team, who were in action on Saturday at the Coast Guard Spring Invitational held at Nitchman Track. The Corsairs finished eighth overall with 45 points, backed by a number of outstanding performances. Coast Guard took the team title on the women's side (96).
In the shot put, grad student
Kate Hockenbury took the victory, posting a throw of 11.07 meters (36' 4"). The Corsairs saw rookie
Olivia Seutter take fourth overall with a mark of 10.25 meters (33' 7.5"), while sophomore
Abby O'Leary was 16th with a distance of 8.84 meters (29' 0"). Graduate student
Alexa Lemieux rounded out the solid finishes, posting 22nd overall with a distance of 8.03 meters (26' 4.25").
In the long jump, junior
Isabella Taccogna took 10th overall with a distance of 4.69 meters (15' 4.75"), while rookie
Zairah Saint-Jean posted 20th with a mark of 3.95 meters (12' 11.5"). The hammer throw saw sophomore
Emily Hesketh earn third overall with a throw of 38.86 meters (127' 06") as senior
Neisha Boiteux posted sixth with a mark of 36.57 meters (119' 11").
Senior
Mia Mejia-Maalouf finished eighth overall with a mark of 35.42 meters (116' 2"), followed by junior
Lauren Donlan was 13th with a throw of 31.48 meters (103' 3").
Next up in the discus, Seutter had a fantastic effort, placing fourth overall with a collegiate-best throw of 32.75 meters (107' 5"), while Hesketh finished sixth with a mark of 28.54 meters (93' 7"). Donlan was 10th overall with a mark of 26.79 meters (87' 10"), as Boiteux was 11th with a throw of 26.37 meters (86' 6").
The javelin saw Mejia-Maalouf take third overall with a throw of 30.06 meters (98' 7"). Rookie
Caroline Lander was 11th with a throw of 25.86 meters (84' 10"), while Hockenbury was 13th with a mark of 25.03 meters (82' 1"). Lemieux rounded out the action with a throw of 22.86 meters (75' 0") – good for 20th overall.
In the track events, things kicked off with the 1500-meter run as graduate student
Emma Steedman crossed the line in 5:06.72 – good for 26th overall. Senior
Julia Latura was next across with a collegiate-best mark of 5:09.53 for 32nd, while classmate
Bee Greenberg was 35th in 5:11.22 – another collegiate-best time. Graduate student
Emily Philbrook posted 36th in 5:13.09 as rookie
Sara Lopez was 45th in 5:19.26 – it marked the first collegiate running of the event for either runner.
Sophomore
Sarah Lynch continued the 1500m action for the Corsairs, crossing in a collegiate-best time of 5:21.74 for 46th, while rookie
Ashlyn Byrnes posted a time of 5:28.85 for 57th overall. Rookie
Alexia Gonsalves took 64th in 5:37.18 as sophomore
Serena Carnes crossed the line in 66th with a mark of 5:43.45.
The 100-meter hurdles saw Saint-Jean post 11th overall in 21.01 – her first collegiate run in the event, while in the 400-meter dash, junior
Tori Schweitzer was 19th in 1:08.52. Sophomore
Kyla Palmer placed 26th in the 400m with a time of 1:12.71. Next up in the 100-meter dash, rookie
Phoebe Gesner posted 11th overall with a mark of 13.41. Rookie
Erica Markey also finished well with a time of 14.74 – good for 34th.
Next up in the 200-meter dash, Taccogna placed 11th overall with a time of 28.13, while Gesner was right behind with a mark of 28.35 to earn 12th. Saint-Jean crossed the line with a time of 32.68 – for 30th overall. In the 5000-meter run, sophomore
Sophie Owen posted 24th with a time of 20:54.76, while rookie
Lylah Thibeault was 26th in a collegiate-best time of 21:32.09.
In the final event of the day, the 4x400-meter relay, Gesner, Latura, Lopez and Steedman combined to take fourth overall with a mark of 4:33.48. Additionally, Taccogna, Schweitzer, Byrnes and Gonsalves posted seventh with a time of 4:42.16. Rounding out the efforts was the group of Palmer, Lynch and sophomores
Serena Carnes and
Olivia DeSimone – earning ninth with a time of 4:59.60.
The Corsairs return to action next weekend with action at two different meets. Several members of the squad will head to the Silfen Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Connecticut College, while the rest of the squad makes its way to Westfield State for the Jerry Gravel Invitational on Saturday.
