Stonehill Strong at UMass Boston Indoor Invitational


Junior Katie Polakowski won the 60-meter hurdles final, was part of a second place 4x400 relay and ran sixth in the 500-meter dash. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Skyhawks post four event wins, numerous strong finishes in season opener

BOSTON, Mass. (December 2, 2012) – The Stonehill College women's track and field program opened its indoor season at the UMass Boston Indoor Invitational at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center on Saturday.

Stonehill swept the top three spots in the 60-meter hurdles with junior Katie Polakowski (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) winning the final in 9.58-seconds after qualifying second in 9.65. Freshman Jeana Esernio (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) placed second in the final in 9.60-seconds after qualifying first in 9.62. Sophomore Lauren Hanlon (Georgetown, Mass./Georgetown) took third in the final in 9.74-seconds after qualifying third in 9.72.

Polakowski, Esernio and Hanlon, as well as freshman Jordan Gray (Warwick, R.I./Toll Gate) also ran the 4x400-meter relay and finished second overall in 4:08.80 – just 0.09-seconds behind first place Tufts University.

Gray was also victorious in her collegiate debut with a first place finish in the 400-meter dash in 58.96-seconds.

Sophomore Maria Curit (Biddeford, Maine/Biddeford) won the 500-meter dash with a time of 1:19.43. She also led four Stonehill runners in the 200-meter dash by placing fourth in 26.92-seconds. Polakowski finished sixth in 27.14-seconds.


Junior Emily Regan won the 5000-meter run to lead three Stonehill runners in the event. (PHOTO  BY Richard Orr)

Junior Emily Regan (Hanson, Mass./Whitman-Hanson) won the 5000-meter run, leading three Skyhawks in the race, with her time of 18:06.93. Senior Kristen Veit (Easthampton, Mass./Holyoke Catholic) took fourth in 18:24.57, while sophomore Brittany Venturo (Taunton, Mass./Coyle & Cassidy) was tenth in 19:06.92.

Sophomore Emily Anderson (Manchester, N.H./Manchester) placed second overall and first among collegiate entries in the 3000-meter run with her time of 10:19.85.

Junior Meaghan Olin (Goshen, N.Y./Goshen) placed second in the pole vault by clearing a height of 9-feet, 6.25-inches, matching her own school record set at the Jay Carisella Invitational at the Reggie Lewis Center on December 3, 2011.

Junior Angelina Comei (Bradford, Mass./Haverhill) placed second in the triple jump with her distance of 34-feet, 9.50-inches. She also finished 14th in the long jump at 14-feet, 6.50-inches.

Junior Melissa Ulcena (Billerica, Mass./Billerica) placed third in the 800-meter run with her time of 2:28.65.


Freshman Jordan Gray won the 400-meter dash and was also part of the second place 4x400 relay.

Freshman Molly Hellman (Rumson, N.J./Rumson-Fairhaven Regional) finished fifth overall, and fourth among collegiate entries, in the mile run by finishing in 5:39.91.

Junior Amanda Egesi (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) and freshman Leanne Kent (North Andover, Mass./Central Catholic) both qualified for the final in the 60-meter dash. Egesi finished sixth in 8.27-seconds, after qualifying fifth in 8.33-seconds, while Kent placed eighth in the final in 8.33-seconds after qualifying seventh in 8.36. Sophomore Christina Russo (Winthrop, Mass./Winthrop) narrowly missed out on qualifying for the final with her preliminary time of 8.41-seconds to place ninth overall.

Kent also placed 14th in the 200-meter dash in 27.72-seconds, while Russo was 16th in 27.77-seconds.

Stonehill returns to action on Friday when it competes at the Reggie Poyau Invitational, hosted by Brandeis University, at Gosman Athletic Center in Waltham, Mass., at 5 p.m.

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