Skyhawks take second overall at home meet

Katie Bernazzani topped her own school record in the 100m hurdles.

EASTON, Mass. (April 29, 2011) – Stonehill College, ranked third in this week’s U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II East Regional index, posted a school record and collected 12 top-five finishes to place second overall as host of the Skyhawk Invitational at W.B. Mason Stadium on Friday afternoon.

The top team score was recorded by Division I University of Rhode Island, who compiled 212 points, followed by Stonehill with 108 points and Division I Northeastern University with 97.

Sophomore Katie Bernazzani (Norwood, Mass./Norwood) continued a strong season in the 100-meter hurdles this afternoon, breaking her own program record in the event with a time of 15.29 seconds to place fourth overall. Bernazzani, who clipped her mark of 15.47 seconds set on the Skyhawks’ home track at last year’s Northeast-10 Conference Championships, has previously qualified for the event at the New England Championships next month. Sophomore Sarah Burke (South Yarmouth, Mass/Dennis-Yarmouth) finished seventh in 16.34 seconds.

Senior Amanda Tripodi (Darien, Conn./Darien) also ran a personal best to lead the Stonehill pack in the 1500m run, taking seventh overall in 4:51.57, just ahead of junior Kristen Mahoney (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth), who finished 10th in 4:51.97. Sophomore Kristen Veit (Easthampton, Mass./Holyoke Catholic) followed at 4:52.41 in 11th place, while freshmen Sarah Biggers (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Lakeland) and Emily Regan (Hanson, Mass./Whitman-Hanson) and sophomore Lynley Joynt (Guilderland, N.Y./Guilderland) all came across in the top 20.

Amanda Tripodi ran a career best to lead Stonehill in the 1500m event.

Junior Jill Alves (Whitman, Mass./Whitman-Hanson) was Stonehill’s top finisher in the 800m run, placing fifth in 2:19.81. Senior Lindsey Booth (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) and freshman Melissa Ulcena (Billerica, Mass./Billerica) finished 11th and 12th, Booth in 2:25.06 and Ulcena in 2:25.23, and freshman Elizabeth LaRegina (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield) placed 18th in 2:32.92. Junior Christen Carrier (Manchester, N.H./Manchester Central) was also strong in the 400m dash, placing sixth in a season-best 59.51 seconds. Junior Maura Ferrarini (Springfield, Mass./Cathedral) placed third in the 5000m event, turning in a time of 18:29.56.

Sophomore Olivia Dyson (Reading, Mass./Reading) placed second in the high jump with a height of five feet, 2.25 inches, matching the jump of first-place finisher Shannon Meehan of Rhode Island but needing one more attempt to clear it. Dyson also took fourth place in the javelin with a throw of 113 feet, one inch, while junior Erica Insel (Clinton, N.J./Voorhees) edged her for third place at 113’5”, and freshman Krista Chauvin (Seekonk, Mass./Seekonk) took sixth with a throw of 107’10”. Chauvin posted three top-ten finishes in the field, also placing fifth in the discus with a throw of 113’8” and eighth in the hammer at 118’6”.

Other highlights for Stonehill include:

Junior Vlada Shelkova (Newington, Conn./Newington) placed second in the long jump at a distance of 17 feet, two inches, and seventh in the triple jump at 33 feet, 10 inches. Freshman Angelina Comei (Bradford, Mass./Haverhill) took fourth in the long jump (16 feet, 6.5 inches) and sixth in the triple jump, edging Shelkova on attempts at 33 feet, 10 inches.

Finishing 3-4-5 in the 400m hurdles were freshman Katie Polakowski (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) in 1:08.52, senior Danielle Wheeler (Carmel, N.Y./Carmel) in 1:09.67, and Burke in 1:10.02.

Freshman Ashley McLaughlin (Hudson, Mass./Hudson) edged classmate Kelly Lucia (Somers, N.Y./Somers) in the 100m dash, McLaughlin finishing 18th in 14.37 seconds and Lucia 20th in 14.49 seconds. Lucia clipped McLaughlin in the 200m dash as the pair finished 16th and 17th, Lucia in 30.17 seconds and McLaughlin in 30.24 seconds.

Stonehill will be back in action this Friday and Saturday to challenge for a conference title at the Northeast-10 Conference Outdoor Championships hosted by the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Friday’s events will get underway at 4:30 p.m.