Skyhawks win third-straight outdoor title
Dexter concluded the Championships with four All-Conference honors, the individual 100-meter dash title, and two school records (PHOTO BY: Denise Archetto) |
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (May 5, 2018) – The Stonehill College women's track and field team, ranked first in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II East Regional Computer Rankings and first in the Northeast-10 Conference Pre-Championship Coaches' Poll, took home its fourth outdoor title in program history and third-straight championship as the squad blew away the competition with a total of 248 points at Jess Dow Field in New Haven, Connecticut hosted by Southern Connecticut State University on Saturday.
The Skyhawks combined for 248 points for first place, while Southern Connecticut State University finished second with just about 100 less points than Stonehill totaling 148.5. Assumption College finishing in third place, recorded 139.50 points, while American International College fell fourth with 74 points and Adelphi University rounded out the top five teams with 57 points.
The gap of 99.5 points between the Skyhawks and the Owls is the largest difference between the top two teams since 2013 Indoor Championships when UMass Lowell won the meet with 216 points and American International College came in second with 123 points, good for 93 points different.
Stonehill saw 15 All-Conference honors on day two, totaling 24 over the two-day meet, including all three relays. The Skyhawks also had four school records broken on day two, totaling six broken records. On the final day of competition, Stonehill saw three first-place marks, combining for five total individual winners. The Skyhawks have now won nine-straight NE10 titles in cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field, and 14 of the last 15 titles since 2013.
The quartet of Sinead O'Brien (Norwood, Massachusetts/Norwood), Emily Polvere (Somers, New York/Somers), Alison Tobin (Hudson, Massachusetts/Hudson) and Olivia Dexter (East Calais, Vermont/Union 32) kicked off the day two track events with a school record time of 47.20-seconds in the 4x100-meter relay, marking the first time that Stonehill won the 4x100-meter.
Dexter earned her second All-Conference honor of the day in the 100-meter dash finals earning first place, for her first top mark at a NE10 Championships, clocking in a time of 11.95, a new school record. Tobin and Polvere also competed in the 100-meter dash finals earning five more points for the Skyhawks, placing sixth and seventh, respectively, with times of 12.33 and 12.46.
Caiazzi recorded her first NE10 individual title, as she finished first in the 800-meter run (PHOTO BY: Denise Archetto) |
In her third event of the day, Dexter placed third in the 200-meter dash for her third All-Conference honor, clocking in a time of 24.95.
Jillian Caiazzi (Marlborough, Massachusetts/Marlborough) earned her first All-Conference honor of the day in the 800-meter run topping all competition for her first individual title of her career. The junior posted a time of 2:14.68. Elizabeth Hannon (Franklin, Massachusetts/Bishop Feehan) was the second 800-meter runner to earn All-Conference honors as she ranked third among 28 competitors with her time of 2:16. 78. Anna Lastra (Bridgton, Maine/Fryeburg Academy) and Alyssa Freeman (Billerica, Massachusetts/Billerica Memorial) totaled seven points for the Skyhawks in the event clocking in time of 2:17.74 for fifth and 2:18.38, good for sixth.
Sophomore Madison Ward (Holliston, Massachusetts/Holliston) earned the Skyhawks only high jump All-Conference honor with her second-place finish in the event clearing a height of 5 feet, 4.25 inches. Kathleen Giusti (Merrimac, Massachusetts/Pentucket Regional), Ashley Daggett (Attleboro, Massachusetts/Attleboro) and Courtney Daggett (Attleboro, Massachusetts/Attleboro) also chipped in points for Stonehill. Giusti and A. Daggett tied for fourth with a jump of 5 feet, 2.25 inches. C. Daggett finished seventh with a clearance of 5 feet, 2.25 inches. In total, the high jumpers earned Stonehill 17 points.
Freshman Casey Gannon (Warwick, Rhode Island/Toll Gate) took home her first All-Conference honor of the weekend in the 100-meter hurdles finals with a time of 15.05-seconds, good for third. Zoe Smith (Rochester, Massachusetts/Old Rochester Regional) finished fifth with a time of 15.15-seconds.
Gannon came close to taking the top mark in the 400-meter hurdles clocking in a time of 1:03.51, good for second, her second All-Conference honor, and a new school record. Gannon broke the 400-meter hurdles record that was set by Erin Carberry in 2016 at the New England Championships recording a time of 1:03.66. Krista Fernandes (Taunton, Massachusetts/Coyle and Cassidy) followed the freshman for third place and a time of 1:04.60, good for third overall 14 competitors.
Senior Emily Knox (Worcester, Massachusetts/Notre Dame Academy) and junior Makenzie Cyr (Douglas, Massachusetts/Douglas) earned All-Conference nods in the 5000-meter run as they placed second and third, respectively. Knox clocked in a time of 17:35.46, while Cyr followed in 18:29.80.
Freshman Fiona Jordan (Norwood, Massachusetts/Norwood) was the first freshman across the finish line in the 400-meter dash, clocking in a time of 58.46, good for a fifth-place mark.
Gannon combined for three All-Conference honors and one school record as she competed in the 100- and 400-meter hurdles and the 4x400-meter relay (PHOTO BY: Denise Archetto) |
Colleen Perry (Weymouth, Massachusetts/Weymouth) broke her previous school record finishing sixth with 4,027 points in the heptathlon, while Jenna Raffael (North Reading, Massachusetts/North Reading) finished eighth with 3,664 points. In the long jump, Perry and Raffael placed eighth with a mark of 15 feet, 6.25 inches. Raffael threw the javelin a distance of 102 feet, three inches, taking fourth place out of 13 competitors, while Perry placed ninth with a mark of 79 feet, six inches. In the final event, the 800-meter run, Perry finished fourth with a time of 2:32.68, five seconds behind the first-place winner, as Raffael clocked in a time of 2:44.63, good for 12th.
All three discus throwers earned Stonehill 16 points, as Shayla Lyons (Westerlo, New York/Bishop Maginn/Berne-Knox) led the way with a measurement of 130 feet, 8 inches, good for second and an All-Conference honor. Jesica Litwa (Seymour, Massachusetts/Seymour) also earned an All-Conference recognition with her third-place throw of 126 feet, 3 inches. Elizabeth Balzarini (Dedham, Massachusetts/Dedham) was the final Skyhawk to chip in points for the event taking seventh with a distance of 115 feet.
The quartet of Jordan, Gannon, Ashley Colarusso (Tewksbury, Massachusetts/Tewksbury Memorial) and Fernandes recorded an All-Conference race, placing third overall with a time of 3:55.91.
Senior Gaelin Farrell (Baldwinville, Massachusetts/Narragansett Regional) placed fourth in the shot put, leading the Skyhawks with a toss of 43 feet, 1.75 inches. Lyons followed Farrell in sixth place with a measurement of 41 feet, 10.5 inches.
Sophomore Jordan Callahan (Plymouth, Massachusetts/Plymouth North) finished just shy of an All-Conference honor, as she clocked in a time of 11:30.77, earning the Skyhawks five points in the 3000-meter steeplechase.
Stonehill continues championship season with the New England Outdoor Track and Field Championships from May 11-12, hosted by Dartmouth College at Memorial Field in Hanover, New Hampshire.
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