#19 Stonehill Has Strong Showing At BU Valentine Invitational


Junior Jordan Gray provisionally qualified for NCAAs in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.91 seconds, and was also part of Stonehill's 4x400-meter relay that set a program record and improved its NCAA provisional qualifying time.

4x400-meter relay improves NCAA provisional qualifying time with program record mark of 3:49.60

BOSTON, Mass. (February 13, 2015) – The Stonehill College women's track & field team, ranked No. 19 in this week's U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II National Computer Rankings, returned to action today at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational, hosted by Boston University at the BU Track & Tennis Center.

Stonehill's 4x400-meter relay team of senior All-American Maria Curit (Biddeford, Maine/Biddeford) and juniors Jordan Gray (Warwick, Rhode Island/Toll Gate), Jeana Esernio (Stony Brook, New York/Ward Melville), and Leanne Kent (North Andover, Massachusetts/Central Catholic) set a program record and improved its provisional qualifying time for next month's NCAA Championships, placing eighth out of 57 entries and clocking in at 3:49.60. Gray ran the opening leg in 57.1 seconds, followed by Esernio in 60.3 seconds and Kent in 58.0 seconds, before Curit completed the anchor leg in 53.9 seconds.

The relay, which turned in a time of 3:53.61 last weekend at the URI Coaches Tribute Meet, improved its standing from 23rd to 14th among the Division II leaders in the event.

Gray was also strong in the 400-meter dash, provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Championships and earning a time of 56.91 seconds, good for 18th overall.

Sophomore Aisha McAdams (North Kingstown, Rhode Island/North Kingstown) posted an NCAA provisional qualifying effort in the 1-mile run, placing 43rd with a time of 4:59.48. Classmate Nicole Borofski (Plymouth, Massachusetts/Plymouth North) broke her own 3000-meter run program record with a mark of 9:49.01, good for 34th overall.

Kent and sophomore Lexi Buonfiglio (Lynnfield, Massachusetts/Lynnfield) qualified for the New England Championships in the 400-meter dash and 1000-meter run, respectively. Kent's mark of 58.60 seconds was good for 53rd among 151 entries, while Buonfiglio placed 38th in 2:59.45.


Junior Leanne Kent qualified for the New England Championships in the 400-meter dash, clocking in at 58.60 seconds.

Curit led three Stonehill entries in the 800-meter run, placing 23rd in 2:11.52. Classmate Sarah Wilson (West Suffield, Connecticut/Suffield) followed in 71st with a time of 2:19.03, while junior Erin Carberry (Milton, Massachusetts/Thayer Academy) finished 142nd and clocked in at 2:26.87.

Esernio and freshman Azariah Boyd (Brockton, Massachusetts/Brockton) placed 29th and 63rd, respectively, in the 60-meter hurdles, posting times of 9.15 seconds and 9.63 seconds.

Junior Trisha Pierson (East Hanover, New Jersey/Hanover Park) placed 16th in the shot put with a distance of 39 feet 7.25 inches, while freshman Gaelin Farrell (Baldwinville, Massachusetts/Narragansett Regional) finished 23rd with a throw that reached 38 feet, 4.75 inches.

Senior Brianna Venturo (Taunton, Massachusetts/Coyle & Cassidy) and freshman Julie Schultz (Billerica, Massachusetts/Billerica) finished less than one second apart in the 1-mile run, placing 120th and 124th in 5:18.25 and 5:18.86, respectively. Sophomore Alexandra Grimaldo (Marlborough, Massachusetts/Marlborough) also competed, registering a time of 5:29.48.

Freshman Emily Polvere (Somers, New York/Somers) and sophomore Tulie Finley-Moise (Lexington, Massachusetts/Lexington) posted times of 26.93 and 27.05 seconds in the 200-meter dash, good for 142nd and 150th out of 228 entries.

Sophomore Maggie Lepley (Lynn, Massachusetts/Bishop Fenwick) and junior Jenn Tenczar (Chicopee, Massachusetts/Chicopee) finished 34th and 36th, respectively, in the weight throw with distances of 42 feet, four inches, and 39 feet, 6.5 inches, while freshman Alison Tobin (Hudson, Massachusetts/Hudson) cleared ten feet in the pole vault, tying for 35th.

Stonehill will look to defend its NE-10 Indoor Track & Field Championship next weekend at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center in Boston, Massachusetts.

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